Octavio Dotel, a former MLB pitcher who played for 13 teams, died Tuesday after a roof collapsed at a nightclub while he was attending a concert in the Dominican Republic, according to local officials and the Dominican pro baseball league.
He was 51 years old.
The roof of the Jet Set club in Santo Domingo, the capital city, collapsed early Tuesday morning, killing at least 43 others and injuring 160, according to the Associated Press.
Dominican news outlet Noticias SIN reported Director General Juan Manuel Méndez, head of the country’s Emergency Operations Center, confirmed Dotel’s death.
In a Tuesday afternoon statement on Instagram, the Dominican Republic Professional Baseball League expressed its condolences to Dotel’s family. The New York Mets, for whom Dotel made his major-league debut in 1999, also held a moment of silence at Citi Field in his honor before their game Tuesday.
We mourn the passing of Octavio Dotel.
Our thoughts are with everyone affected by the tragedy in the Dominican Republic. pic.twitter.com/UZk88QiBoA
— New York Mets (@Mets) April 8, 2025
Rescue crews are still searching the debris, the AP reported. Officials have not confirmed how many people were inside when the roof caved in. The crowd was attending a concert by merengue singer Rubby Pérez, who is among those injured.
Nelsy Cruz, the governor of the northern Dominican province of Montecristi and a sister of seven-time MLB All-Star Nelson Cruz, also died. President Luis Abinader confirmed Cruz’s death during a press briefing at the site of the collapse, saying she was rescued from the debris but died at the hospital.
“We trust God to give strength to the affected families,” Abinader told reporters.
A Santo Domingo native, Dotel made his MLB debut in 1999 and retired in 2014. He won a World Series in 2011 with the St. Louis Cardinals, his only season with the team.
When he joined the Detroit Tigers in 2012, Dotel set an MLB record for most teams played for by any player. His record of 13 teams stood until Edwin Jackson topped it in 2019.
Dotel was also on the Dominican Republic team that won the World Baseball Classic in 2013. He finished his MLB career with a 59-50 record, 109 saves and a 3.78 ERA in 758 games.
(Photo: Michael Zagaris / Oakland Athletics / Getty Images)