Raúl Alcántara (born December 4, 1992) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher for the Leones de Yucatán of the Mexican League. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics, in the KBO League for the KT Wiz and Doosan Bears, and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Hanshin Tigers.
Career
Boston Red Sox
Alcántara began his career in the Boston Red Sox organization playing for the Rookie Dominican Summer League Red Sox in 2010. He played for both the rookie-level Gulf Coast League Red Sox and Low-A Lowell Spinners in 2011.
Oakland Athletics
On December 28, 2011, Alcántara was traded with Josh Reddick and Miles Head to the Oakland Athletics in exchange for Andrew Bailey and Ryan Sweeney. He played the entirety of the 2012 season with the Single-A Burlington Bees. Alcántara returned to Single-A in 2013 with the Beloit Snappers, but was promoted to the High-A Stockton Ports at mid-season. He was added to the Athletics' 40-man roster on November 20, 2013, in order to be protected from the Rule 5 draft.
Alcántara began the 2014 season with the Double-A Midland RockHounds, but made only three starts before requiring season-ending Tommy John surgery. He returned to play in 2015, making 15 starts at High-A Stockton. He played that off season with the Estrellas Orientales of the Dominican Winter League. He began the 2016 season at Double-A, but was promoted to the Triple-A Nashville Sounds on July 20. Alcántara was called up to the Athletics to make his major league debut on September 5 against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
Alcántara started the 2017 season in Oakland, but was designated for assignment on April 25 after accumulating a 16.71 ERA in three appearances. His contract was selected from Nashville, and he was added to Oakland's active roster on September 5. He was cleared waivers and was sent outright to Nashville before the 2018 season. Alcantara elected free agency on October 5, 2018.
KT Wiz
On November 18, 2018, Alcántara signed with the KT Wiz of the KBO League. He made 27 starts for the Wiz in 2019, compiling an 11-11 record and 4.01 ERA with 100 strikeouts across 172+2⁄3 innings pitched. Alcántara became a free agent following the season.
Doosan Bears
On December 23, 2019, Alcántara signed a one-year, $700,000 contract with the Doosan Bears of the KBO League. After the season, Alcántara was named the Choi Dong-won Award Winner, the equivalent to the Cy Young award in the KBO, after pitching to a 2.54 ERA with 8.2 K/9 and 1.4 BB/9 over 198.2 innings pitched. He became a free agent following the season.
Hanshin Tigers
On December 23, 2020, Alcántara signed with the Hanshin Tigers of Nippon Professional Baseball. On May 16, 2021, Alcántara made his NPB debut.
Doosan Bears (second stint)
On December 11, 2022, Alcantara signed with the Doosan Bears. In 2023, he made 31 starts for Doosan, logging a 13–9 record and 2.67 ERA with 162 strikeouts across 192 innings of work.
On December 21, 2023, Alcántara re–signed with the Bears on a one–year, $1.3 million contract. In 12 starts, he compiled a 2–2 record and 4.76 ERA with 34 strikeouts across 64+1⁄3 innings pitched. Alcántara was released by Doosan on July 4, 2024.
Leones de Yucatán
On April 3, 2025, Alcántara signed with the Leones de Yucatán of the Mexican League.