MINNEAPOLIS — Twins prospect Ryan Costello's death in 2019 "was totally avoidable," his parents assert in a lawsuit filed in December. A doctor hired by the Twins to perform a physical exam that detected the heart abnormality that killed him, the suit alleges, did not treat the condition or inform Costello or the team about it.
"If his [condition] had been appropriately diagnosed and treated," the suit argues, "he would be alive today."
Costello was found dead in his New Zealand hotel room on Nov. 18, 2019, as he prepared to take part in the Australian Baseball League. He was a 23-year-old first and third baseman who appeared in 69 games for Twins affiliates Class A Fort Myers and 40 for Class AA Pensacola in 2019, batting .223 with 15 home runs between the two teams. In 2018, shortly after being obtained in a trade with Seattle for left-handed reliever Zach Duke, Costello hit a three-run home run in the final game of the Florida State League championship series, helping Fort Myers clinch the title.
