The Arizona Diamondbacks announced Thursday that scout Johan Maya died from COVID-19. Maya, 40, worked and lived in the Dominican Republic.
Here’s the Diamondbacks statement:
“We were devastated to be informed of the death of our colleague and headhunter, Johan Maya. Johan, a wonderful person, a guy from the family circle and a true baseball player who started his career as a professional player and became a coach before fitting in a scout and joining. D-Backs in 2019 after 15 years in the organization of the Astros. Our deepest condolences to his wife, Edulig, and his children, as well as his circle of family and friends in the Dominican Republic, where he worked, and in his local Venezuela, his faithful parish will be missed.
Maya played two seasons (1999–2000) as a minor league quarter player with the Houston Astros organization before moving on to training and scouting roles.
Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Rodney Linares, himself a former Astros coach, among which he paid tribute to Maya on social media. “My Venezuelan brother who gave me baseball lost the fight opposed to Covid,” he reads in his tweet. “It’s the tears in your eyes that I ask you to take care of yourself, this is not a game. Johan Brother Rest in Peace. To your entire circle of family members, my deepest condolences are how much your departure has hurt.”
Linares then tweeted two follow-ups: first, he thanked everyone who had tried Maya, and then asked everyone to wear a mask as a way to decrease transmission of the new coronavirus.
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