Cancer cuts short the dreams of catching prospect Daniel Flores

By César Augusto Márquez

“I want to play 15 to 20 years in the major leagues and then be elected to the Hall of Fame,” said Daniel José Flores after signing with the Boston Red Sox this past July 2, the first day of this year when teams could tender contracts to international free agents.

Four months later, baseball is mourning the loss of a talented teenage catching prospect from Venezuela who never got a chance to pursue his dreams. Flores passed away on Wednesday at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston after a brief battle with advanced stage pancreatic cancer, according to family sources. Flores was 17.

Baseball was already mourning the death of pitching great Roy Halladay in a plane crash on Tuesday. Nonetheless, the news of Flores’ illness and passing caught most everyone by surprise. Despite his young age, the switch-hitting Flores was already the fifth-rated prospect in the Red Sox organization. Flores received a $3.1 million bonus in part because scouts believed that he had the potential to be as good or better than countryman Salvador Pérez, the Kansas City Royals’ five-time All-Star catcher and 2015 World Series MVP.

“He was an angel, he was like a son to me,” José Salas, Flores’ trainer and de facto father for the past two years, said in Spanish in a telephone interview from Boston with La Vida Baseball. “I don’t have the words to express myself right now.”

While medical details are sparse, pancreatic cancer is seldom detected in its early stages and typically spreads rapidly to nearby organs. According to family sources, Flores had been training at the Red Sox’s rookie league facility in Fort Myers, Fla., when on Oct. 27 he began complaining of lower back pains, one of the symptoms of pancreatic cancer.

A comprehensive medical examination discovered the cancer and Flores was admitted into Massachusetts General Hospital on Nov. 3. Despite aggressive treatments, doctors were unable to save his life.

“Everyone at the Red Sox was shocked to hear of Daniel’s tragic passing,” Dave Dombrowski, Red Sox president of baseball operations, said in a statement. “To see the life of a young man with so much promise cut short is extremely saddening for all of us. On behalf of the Red Sox organization, I would like to extend our deepest sympathies and condolences to Daniel’s family.”

“Every member of our organization who got to know Daniel absolutely loved him,” assistant general manager Eddie Romero said in a statement.

“He was energetic, hard-working and genuinely selfless, always with a smile on his face. He cared for his teammates and was a natural leader.”— Eddie Romero, Boston Red Sox assistant GM

“I’m at a loss for words today,” Romero added. “Daniel was an impressive young man with limitless potential, and his life was cut far too short. My condolences go out to Daniel’s mother and sister. Though with us for a short time, Daniel will always be a part of the Red Sox family.”

Behind the plate, Flores had a strong arm, quick release and accuracy. He also moved and blocked well, giving him all the ingredients to win a Gold Glove, just like his idol, Pérez.

As a batter, Flores was better from the right side, needing still to refine his lefty swing. But with maturity, scouts projected a catcher who would hit for average and power. The only tool he lacked was speed.

Salas and Flores’ mother, Rosa Margarita Urbaneja traveled to Boston to be with the Flores during his last days. Raised by a single mother, Flores spent the last two years living with Salas’ family while training for this July, when he would finally be eligible to sign a professional contract.

Even though he came from the baseball-rich country of Venezuela — home of superstars Miguel Cabrera and José Altuve — scouts almost missed out on Flores, who at 6-foot-1 and 182 pounds was tall and athletic for a catcher. Born in Margarita Island, off the northeast coast of the Venezuela, he was discovered a couple of years ago by Salas, a former player who is the coordinator for Béisbol y Amistad, a program run by the United States Embassy that offers baseball clinics in remote areas of the country.

“The first time that we saw him, we knew that he would be special. We could clearly see that he had a natural talent to play baseball,” said Salas in June.

Besides his mother, Flores leaves behind a 9-year-old sister, Roxana. He was motivated to reach the major leagues in part to provide a better life for them.

“I dream of giving my mother and sister a future. They mean everything for me and are the main reason why I want to succeed,” Flores said in June. “I’ve admired Salvador Pérez my whole life. Not only are we similar in size, we both come from humble homes. Like him, I want to get ahead for my mother and, above all, for my sister Roxana. They are the women in my life.

“This is only a first step,” Flores said. “I dream of debuting in the major leagues.”

Salas literally adopted Flores, raising him at his home with his family for the past two years.

“Our relationship grew little by little,” Salas said in June, “and I started considering him as a son and he started asking for my blessings. His mother put her faith in us and we were able to help. He became part of my family and our relationship evolved from being professional to being personal.”

Flores was fortunate to receive tutoring from current and former Venezuelan major leaguers, including Pérez himself.

“It’s so terrible to hear about the death of someone as young as Daniel,” Vic Davalillo, a former centerfielder who had a 16-year career in the major leagues, said in Spanish in a telephone interview from Caracas with La Vida Baseball. “I had the chance to help and advise him, and besides being talented, he was, above all, very disciplined.

“It’s so sad. Daniel was a responsible, hard-working young man,” Davalillo added. “I had no doubt that he would have made it to the major leagues.”

Reaction across the baseball world included tweets from major leaguers, scouts, reporters and other Venezuelan prospects, including the Yankees’ Gleyber Torres, a talented infielder who is recovering from Tommy John surgery.

The losses of Halladay and Flores are the latest in a sport that has since 2014 dealt annually with the unexpected deaths of young players, starting with St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Oscar Taveras, who died in an automobile accident in the Dominican Republic that October.

The Seattle Mariners lost prospect Víctor Sánchez in March 2015 to head injuries after being struck by a boat while swimming in Venezuela. Marlins’ pitcher José Fernández died in a boating accident off Miami Beach in September 2016. And Royals pitcher Yordano Ventura died in an automobile accident in the Dominican Republic on Jan. 22 of this year.

With the exception of Halladay, who was retired and is favored to enter the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum on his first year of eligibility in 2019, all the others were talented and died much too young.

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