DENVER -- Yuliett Pimentel Solarte, the wife of Padres third baseman Yangervis Solarte, passed away on Saturday after complications from her fight against cancer. She was 31.
Yangervis Solarte left the team on Friday to fly back to his home in Florida to be with Yuliett and their three daughters. She passed away before Saturday's game.
"Everybody's heart breaks for him right now," Padres manager Andy Green said. "There's nothing that replaces a wife and a mother. All we can do is love him and support him."
Solarte delivered the news in a moving Instagram post on Saturday evening. He later sent out a tweet in Spanish, saying, "Simply thank you for all your support. The truth is I have no words to describe this. We had a tough year, but I know that she fought."
Solarte has informed the Padres that he'd like to return to San Diego with his daughters before the end of the season. But he will undoubtedly be given all the time he needs before rejoining the club.
Green noted the immense support system within the game, saying Solarte and the Padres organization have received an outpouring of kind thoughts from the rest of Major League Baseball. Before Sunday's finale at Coors Field, the Rockies held a moment of silence for Yuliett.
"I'm a dad of three girls; I couldn't function without my wife," Green said. "What he's going through right now as a dad of three girls and losing his wife, it's tragic. One of the best things about baseball is it's a family away from a family. ... From our perspective, 'Hey, whenever you want to be back, you can come back. If you don't want to be back the last two weeks, you don't have to be back.' We'll continue to talk to him, offer him our love and support, anything we can possibly do for his family."