US baseball player Blake Bivens’ wife, one-year-old son and mother-in-law have been found dead at their home in rural Virginia on Tuesday, police say.

Bivens’ brother-in-law Matthew Bernard was later arrested and charged with three counts of first-degree murder.

Mr Bernard, 18, was found running naked near the property in Pittsylvania County, officials say.

Bivens, a pitcher attached to Major League Baseball’s side Tampa Bay Rays, was on Tuesday in Alabama.

He was about to play for Minor League Baseball’s Montgomery Biscuits. That game has now been postponed as a mark of respect.

In a statement posted on Twitter, Tampa Bay Rays said: “Our hearts are broken for Blake. We are grieving with him and will support him any way we can.