Jesus Montero's ex-wife posts touching tribute to late Yankees player following his tragic death in Venezuela

Jesús Montero's ex-wife has joined the chorus of mourners grieving the ex-Major League Baseball player's recent passing.

Montero's death was revealed Sunday, weeks after a motorcycle accident in his native Venezuela left him with serious injuries, including a punctured lung. The 35-year-old was put into an induced coma, according to a GoFundMe page that was set up to help his family pay for his hospital bills.

Taneth Gimenez, a fitness influencer and Montero's ex-wife, responded to the tragedy by posting a pair of pictures of him with their two children, Loren and Jesus.

'Watch over and bless your children from Heaven,' Gimenez wrote on Instagram in Spanish. 'Rest in peace.'

In another post, also in Spanish, Gimenez wrote: 'May the Lord receive you in His glory. Thank you for giving me the greatest thing I have, my children.'

The posts included an image of Montero kissing his daughter and another of him showing her to her infant brother. 

Montero played just 18 games for the Yankees in 2011 before being traded to the Seattle Mariners. At the time, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said Montero 'may well be the best player I've ever traded.'

He was rated as Baseball America's No. 6 prospect before the 2012 season, but although he made the Opening Day roster, he failed to meet expectations amid a series of injuries and a 50-game suspension when it was revealed he obtained human growth hormone from a Florida health clinic known as Biogenesis.

Other players linked to the scandal included Alex Rodriguez, Ryan Braun, Nelson Cruz, Melky Cabrera, Bartolo Colón, and Yasmani Grandal.

Montero's Major League tenure was over by 2017 and although he played two seasons in Mexico, he ultimately returned to his native Venezuela to finish his career.

'Venezuelan baseball sadly bids farewell to Jesús Montero … leaving behind a legacy of effort and passion for the game,' the Venezuelan league said in a statement posted on X. 'Today, baseball mourns his passing.

'But it also remembers him with gratitude: for every home run that thrilled the fans, for every day in which he proudly defended his country's colors, and for every young person who saw in him an example that dreams can be achieved.'

The horrific accident earlier this month left Montero with a punctured lung, six broken ribs and multiple fractures to his femur, tibia, and fibula, as well as hip and knee injuries, according to local outlet El Nacional.

He was rushed to Dr. Enrique Tejera Hospital in Valencia, Carabobo, where he reportedly suffered cardiac arrest and had to be resuscitated. 

Montero was placed into an induced coma and put on dialysis due to the extent of the damage to his renal system.