Angel Villalona, once charged with murder, to join Giants in camp

Giants prospect Angel Villalona, who not long ago was cleared of murder charges in his native Dominican Republic, will join the team in spring training.

Angel Villalona's baseball career is set to get back on track. (Getty Images)

Angel Villalona is a reasonably well-regarded 22-year-old first-base prospect with a career slash line of .272/.334/.434. Fair enough, but why is it notable that Villalona will be in attendance at Giants camp this spring? Baseball America's Ben Badler explains:

Villalona had been charged with the September 2009 murder of 25-year-old Mario Felix de Jesus Velete in the Dominican Republic at a bar in La Romana, where Villalona is from. Villalona eventually settled with de Jesus Velete's family, reportedly for around $139,000. A prosecutor was planning to move forward with the case, but the charges were dropped.

Now that Villalona's been granted a visa (and now that his breach of contract suit against the Giants has been settled out of court), he's free to resume his U.S. baseball career.

Villalona, who was ranked by BA as one of the top 50 prospects in baseball heading into the 2008 and 2009 seasons, may yet fulfill his promise as a ballplayer, but his personal history will surely follow him.

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