The Cuban gardener Lázaro Montes, 21 years old, was promoted to the Major Leagues by the Seattle Mariners this Sunday, according to a report by specialized journalist Francys Romero citing close sources to the player.
"BREAKING: Cuban outfielder Lázaro Montes has been promoted to MLB by the Seattle Mariners, sources tell me. He has been one of the elite prospects in baseball for many years, hitting 38 home runs this season in the Minor Leagues. A young man from Barreras, Guanabacoa, who left home with his parents at a young age to pursue the dream of many and has now achieved it. An extraordinary promotion for Montes at just 21 years old," wrote Romero.
The call comes after a historic season in the Minor Leagues: 38 home runs, 96 RBIs, and an OPS of .921 combining Double-A Arkansas and Triple-A Tacoma.
Montes hit his 38th home run on Saturday, the same day his promotion to the majors was announced.
This hit also holds additional historical value: with it, the player from Havana surpassed the record for home runs in a Minor League season for a Cuban, which belonged to Juan Francisco «Pancho» Herrera since 1959, when he hit 37 home runs with the Buffalo Bisons of the International League, winning the Triple Crown and the MVP of that season.
That record had stood for 67 years.
The raw power has been Montes' hallmark since he entered professional baseball. Recently, he hit a home run with an exit velocity of 115.9 mph, a hit that MLB highlighted as one of the most powerful of the entire season, even comparing it to those of Major League players.
In Triple-A Tacoma, where he was promoted in July, Montes is batting .267 with 13 home runs and 30 RBIs in 43 games, numbers that accelerated Seattle's decision to bring him up to the major league roster.
Born in the Barreras neighborhood of Guanabacoa, Havana, Montes left Cuba with his parents at a young age before starting his professional career. The Mariners signed him as an international free agent in January 2022 for a reported bonus of 2.5 million dollars, and since then he has rapidly climbed through the organization's minor league system.
In 2025, he was selected for the All-Star Futures Game, leading the Minor Leagues in home runs with 21 at that time. Baseball America has compared him to Yordan Álvarez for his raw power, rated at 60 on the scouting scale, and MLB Pipeline ranked him among the top Cuban prospects in minor league baseball, as high as 26th overall and third within the Seattle organization.
His call-up to MLB comes in the final stretch of the 2026 season, as the Mariners look to strengthen their roster, making Montes one of the youngest Cuban prospects to reach the Major Leagues in recent years.
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