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ROTTERDAM — Seattle Mariners outfielder Greg Halman was stabbed to death in Rotterdam on Monday and his brother has been arrested in connection with the incident, police said.
Halman, 24, was signed as a free agent by Seattle in 2004 and made his major league debut in 2010.
Police were called to a home in the Dutch port city early Monday and found Halman bleeding from a stab wound. The officers were unable to resuscitate the outfielder.
"A 24-year-old died this morning in a stabbing and we have arrested the 22-year-old brother of the victim," a Rotterdam police spokesman told Reuters. Officials declined to give the suspect's name, in line with Dutch privacy rules.
Police spokesman Patricia Wessels told the Associated Press: "He is under arrest and right now he is being questioned. It will take some time to figure out what exactly happened."
However, Halman's 22-year-old brother Jason reportedly played at the 2004 World Baseball Championship in Taiwan. According to baseball-reference.com, their father Eddy played professionally in Holland.
NOS-TV said Halman's family had confirmed his death.
Greg Halman helped the Netherlands win the 2007 European Baseball Championship.
He hit .230 with two home runs and six RBIs in 35 games with the Mariners last season. He batted .299 during a 40-game stint with Tacoma in the Pacific Coast League.
Greg Halman is a .207 career hitter in the big leagues, according to baseball-reference.com.
When not playing for the Mariners, he helped boost baseball in Europe by holding coaching clinics with youngsters.
The Dutch baseball governing body, the Koninklijke Nederlandse Baseball en Softball Bond (KNBSB) was it could not immediately provide comment.
Reuters, The Associated Press, NBC News and msnbc.com staff contributed to this report.
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