Dodgers Rookie’s Family Found Dead Ahead of MLB Debut

Reports out of Venezuela indicate that Alfonzo's sister and stepmother were found dead over the weekend, victims of a hotel that collapsed during a pair of devastating earthquakes near La Guaira, Venezuela.

They are two among thousands who have died since the magnitude-7 earthquakes rattled the country on June 24.

Alfonzo's father, the former major league catcher Eliezer Alfonzo Sr., is in Venezuela assisting in rescue efforts.

Neither Eliána Alfonzo nor her mother, Patricia, had been found when the catcher was promoted from Triple-A on Saturday.

The Dodgers signed Alfonzo to a minor league contract after he reached Triple-A for the first time in 2025. A switch-hitter, Alfonzo went 7-for-32 (.219) in eight games with the Toledo Mud Hens, the Detroit Tigers' top farm team, to end the 2025 season.

Alfonzo spent eight seasons in the Tigers' farm system after he signed out of Venezuela as an amateur free agent.

In his first spring training with the Dodgers, Alfonzo went 9-for-36 (.250) with three doubles in 15 Cactus League games. Alfonzo was slashing .313/.392/.422 in 49 games with Triple-A Oklahoma City when his contract was selected prior to Saturday's game against the Padres.

Alfonzo's pathway to major league playing time was paved when Will Smith was scratched from the Dodgers' lineup on June 6 due to neck inflammation. Initially Smith was expected to miss only one game, but he will have spent a month on the injured list as of Monday.

With Dalton Rushing taking over the everyday starter's duties, the Dodgers promoted veteran backup Chuckie Robinson from Oklahoma City last month.

Robinson, 31, went 2-for-23 as the backup to Rushing. Alfonzo's promotion could be a reflection of Smith's prognosis as much as his own ability.

The Dodgers ostensibly saw enough from Alfonzo to feel comfortable with his bat and his glove behind the plate for a week or longer. Robinson was optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City on Saturday.

Alfonzo is batting ninth and catching Dodgers starting pitcher Emmet Sheehan as the Dodgers look to sweep the four-game series from their National League West rivals.

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