Josefrailin Alcántara, a former Chicago Cubs prospect who was one of the team’s top international free agents last season, is reportedly being sought in connection with a shooting death in the Dominican Republic.
Dominican Republic news site DiarioLibre.com reported Wednesday that police are searching for Alcántara following the shooting death of 26-year-old Darwin Díaz Valerio in Santiago last Friday.
Alcántara reportedly went to the man’s house to confront him about a debt. After an argument that escalated outside the house, the man reportedly shot the baseball player in the hand. Alcántara then reportedly shot the victim twice, killing him.
The report states Alcántara received medical treatment after the incident before leaving.
Este tema va para largo y podría tocar a influyentes figuras. La Policía busca a exprospecto de los Cubs que habría matado amigo por deuda https://t.co/kbvoyxxzoo
— Nathanael Pérez Neró (@nathanaelperezn) May 25, 2023
The Cubs announced Wednesday night they have released Alcántara. In a statement to the Chicago Tribune, Cubs senior vice president of communications Julian Green said, “We were made aware of a death investigation involving one of our recently-released minor-league players. We cannot provide further comment until we have additional details.”
The 18-year-old outfielder signed with the Cubs as an international free agent in January 2022. His $500,000 signing bonus was the fourth-highest awarded among 30 prospects for Chicago last year. Alcántara slashed .136/.282/.254 with two home runs in 40 games last season in the Dominican Summer League.
