Sad news in the baseball world as a report on Monday said that former Giants prospect Gustavo Cabrera passed away from medical complications as he recovered from COVID-19.  He was 25.

Cabrera was signed by the Giants at the age of 16 in 2012, but his career was put in jeopardy after an accident in his home severely injured his right arm.

He got a signing bonus of $1.3 million from the Giants, which was among the largest international bonuses at the time due to new caps on international spending at the time.  Projecting as a right fielder, he was praised for his athleticism and his batspeed, and showed impressive plate discipline as a young player.  In his debut season, of 2013, he had a .247/.379/.360 batting line in the Dominican Summer League.

Pablo Pegeuro, the scout that signed Cabrera, said of him “Right away, I see this kid, and he reminded me of Raul Mondesi…right away, a five-tool player.”

However, in 2014, he suffered that gruesome injury.  He slipped in his home and fell through a glass-top table, severing muscles and 11 tendons in his right forearm and reportedly nearly severing his right hand entirely.  Then-assistant GM Bobby Evans said he “pretty near severed almost everything you can sever in your arm.”

After three surgeries in 11 months, Cabrera would return to the giants system in 2015, getting into two games before a pulled hamstring ended his season.  He began playing regularly again in 2016, when he got into 52 games, batting .241/.288/.383 across Augusta and Salem-Keizer.  He would play 16 more games in 2017 before leaving the Giants system and retiring from the game at the age of 22.

Our deepest sympathies and condolences go out to his family.