Mario Encarnacion

Former A’s prospect and sometime Rockie Mario Encarnacion died recently in Taiwan, where he was playing professionally:

Professional baseball player Mario Encarnacion of the Dominican Republic was found dead yesterday morning in his dormitory. The cause of death is not yet known pending an autopsy, but investigators said his room had not been broken into and that a post-mortem examination found no signs of external injury.
Encarnacion played with the Chinese Professional Baseball League’s (CPBL) Macoto Cobras.
At a press conference held yesterday afternoon, CPBL secretary-general Lee Wen-ping said, “Encarnacion failed to pass a steroids exam in May and he was suspended from playing games for two weeks.”
Lee said Encarnacion explained to the league that he had taken weight-loss medicine which may have contained steroids. Encarnacion was worried that his weight was affecting his performance.
But Lee warned the media not to jump to conclusions.
“Before prosecutors finish an investigation, please do not suspect that his death was related to him taking medicines prohibited by the league,” Lee said.
Investigators said an autopsy would be conducted in a few days to determine the cause of death.
A Cobras coach, Lu Ming-shih, told reporters the team believed Encarnacion’s death might be related to gastroenteritis, which he had suffered from for a long time.

Stay tuned.