Tragic news coming out of the Yankees organization today. Eighteen-year-old Sandy Acevedo, a promising prospect for the New York Yankees lost his life in a car accident Friday Night. Acevedo signed as an international free agent with the team last year. The team announced that they would be having a moment of silence before their game against Tampa Bay on Sunday.
Yankees Prospect Sandy Acevedo Passes Away
Acevedo was signed out of Santo Domingo, which is the capital of the Dominican Republic was listed as a third baseman/infielder. The organization discovered him when they were in the Dominican to scout pitcher Yoan Lopez. While the Yankees didn’t wind up signing Lopez they were able to secure Acevedo to a contract.
David Adler a writer for MLB.com recalled a past interview with Scout.com in 2015 when the director of Yankees international scouting, Donny Rowland, discussed how they discovered Acevedo:
“Acevedo was one of the hitters that we brought in to face him, and he absolutely owned him in three out of four at-bats and crushed stuff. That’s where our staff became sold on this guy. ‘We like the pitcher, but who is the hitter?'”
His death comes just months after several other Major League prospects lost theirs in the Dominican Republic. In January other major league prospects Jose Rosario and Ramon Ramirez both lost their lives in separate motorcycle accidents. In 2014, some may remember Cardinals player Oscar Taveras losing his life in a major car accident less than a month after the end of his first Major League Season.
Acevedo had yet to see any action in the minor leagues, but was set to make his promising debut later this season. One can only imagine how his career would have panned out. Having the talent to catch the scout’s eyes when he wasn’t even on their radar in the first place says a lot about the abilities he possessed.
