MLB Suspends Prospect Following Elaborate Age-Fraud Plot

Major League Baseball has suspended a Dominican prospect after an investigation uncovered a complex plot to make the player appear nearly two years younger than his actual age, ESPN reported.

In December 2025, the Cleveland Guardians entered into a $2.8 million pre-deal with a switch-hitting infielder known as David Severino. At the time, the Guardians believed the player was 13 or 14 years old, with the agreement set to be finalized in 2029. However, the Guardians terminated the deal in May, according to Wilber Sánchez. The player's actual identity is Daury David Severino Damaso, and he is 16 years old.

Reporting from ESPN and CBS Sports indicates the deception was orchestrated by the player's former trainer, Francisco Nieves, with the approval of the player's parents. The scheme involved falsifying school and medical records, as well as forging birth and death certificates. To solidify the ruse, Nieves allegedly filed a fraudulent death certificate claiming Daury died of a respiratory illness on May 5, 2012, and planted a fake tombstone at a gravesite in La Romana, Dominican Republic.

John Pereyra, a trainer and operator of the Futuro Big Leaguers academy in Santiago, told ESPN he paid Nieves $20,000 for the player's rights after being told the prospect was 11 years old. Pereyra noted that while he had initial suspicions regarding the player's birth certificate, visiting the supposed grave eased his concerns. He stated that while identity fraud is known in the region, the scale of this plot was unprecedented.

Neither MLB, the Guardians, nor Nieves have issued a comment on the situation.