St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Oscar Taveras and one of the top prospects of the past several seasons died today in an auto accident in his native Dominican Republic, his agent confirmed to reporters there.
Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak expressed his condolences to the family, but said the team was awaiting more details before making a formal announcement.
Brian Mejia, Taveras’ agent, told reporters that Taveras and his girlfriend died in the accident. No other details were immediately available.
Taveras, 22, debuted with the Cardinals this season and batted .239 in 80 games, finishing the season as a part-time outfielder.
The next-to-last hit of his career was a seventh-inning, pinch-hit game-tying home run off San Francisco’s Jean Machi in Game 2 of this year’s National League Division Series, a game the Cardinals eventually won on Kolten Wong’s walk-off homer in the ninth.
