News surfaced this spring that the Cleveland Guardians had canceled their $2.8 million agreement with a Dominican prospect known by the name of David Severino. A Friday report from ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez revealed that Major League Baseball has suspended the teenage switch hitter after unearthing an age-fraud plot that included a fake identity and led the Guardians to believe the infielder was years younger than he actually is.
David Severino’s real name is Daury David Severino Damaso, according to ESPN’s report, and he’s reportedly 16 years old, not 13 or 14 like the Guardians thought when they agreed to the lucrative pre-deal with him back in December.
Cleveland was reportedly under the impression that Severino would be 17 in 2029, at which point the deal would be finalized and he would be eligible to sign.
The Guardians, notably, aren’t facing MLB discipline, per ESPN.
A Dominican prospect who got a $2.8M pre-deal was found to be two years older, part of an elaborate age-fraud plot that involved a fake identity, a fake death & a fake tombstone.
More on his story, a glaring example of a market rife with corruption …https://t.co/ngddDbXy1K
Severino was actually born on April 2, 2010, according to ESPN, which reported that, in 2023, Severino's trainer at the time, Francisco Nieves, allegedly received the approval of the player’s parents to concoct the fake identity of David Severino Damaso.
David Severino Damaso was supposed to be the younger brother of Daury Severino Damaso, for whom a fraudulent death certificate was reportedly filed two years later. It read that Daury died at 2 years old due to a respiratory illness, and a fake tombstone was placed in his name in the southeastern part of the Dominican Republic, per ESPN.
As for the new, younger Daury, AKA the Severino who became a highly touted prospect, his background was reportedly bolstered by a late-filed birth registration upon his identity’s creation in 2023. That showed a birthdate of Dec. 20, 2011, in other words more than 20 months after his real birthdate. Fabricated medical and school records allegedly factored in as well, as Severino’s handler attempted to legitimize the manufactured persona.
Ultimately, Severino performed favorably against 12- and 13-year-olds when, in reality, he should have been in the Dominican Summer League with 16- and 17-year-olds, according to ESPN’s report.
Although age and identity fraud unfortunately aren’t new in international baseball, Severino’s case is more extreme, given the measures that were taken to strengthen the ploy.
Based on his real age, 16, Severino would have been eligible for the class of 2027; however, per ESPN, the suspension he’s dealing with delay his entry to the international amateur market by a year.
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