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Isotopes 2B Coco Montes released, signs with Japanese team
Coco Montes
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One of the Isotopes’ most recognizable faces — and names — is headed to Japan.
Albuquerque second baseman Coco Montes is signing with the Yomuiri Giants, a Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) team based in Tokyo. The news was first reported by BeisbolFR.com’s Francys Romero via a post on X.
INF Coco Montes is in an agreement with a Nippon Professional Baseball team, per sources.
— Francys Romero (@francysromeroFR) June 27, 2024
Montes made his MLB debut with the Rockies in 2023.
He was leading the Pacific Coast League (Triple-A) in batting average (.335). pic.twitter.com/keVvYlROuh
Terms of Montes’ contract were not available.
An Isotopes fan favorite known as much for his walkup song (O.T. Genasis’ “CoCo”) as his hitting prowess, Montes batted .335/.414/.615 with nine homers in 297 plate appearances with Triple A Albuquerque this season. He was released on June 25, bringing an end to his six-year stint in the Colorado Rockies organization.
A Miami native, Montes played three seasons at the University of South Florida before he was drafted by Colorado in the 15th round of the 2018 MLB Draft. He hit .258/.317/.414 with Double A Hartford before he earned his first promotion to Albuquerque in 2022.
In three seasons with the Isotopes, Montes batted .305/.388/.532 with 51 home runs across 1,283 plate appearances. Those numbers were good enough to earn him his first stay with the Rockies, where he hit .184/.244/.316 over 18 games last season before he was optioned back to Albuquerque.
Montes is set to join the Giants (34-33) a little under halfway through their season. Yomuiri is currently third in the NPB’s Central League, a half game back of DeNA for the league’s final playoff spot.
