Former Boston Red Sox star David Ortiz was the target of an $8,000 (£6,305) hit when he was shot, authorities have said.
National Police chief Ney Aldrin Bautista said they believe a group of five attempted to kill the baseball star for the large sum of money.
He was shot on Sunday at a Dominican Republic bar and had to undergo surgery.
A man accused of attacking the 43-year-old has been arrested along with four others.
Mr Bautista said the plot to kill Ortiz, a national hero in the Dominican Republic, was “complex” and allegedly involved two men on a motorcycle working with two other groups of people in cars.
Dominican Republic Attorney General Jean Alain Rodriguez identified Ramon Martinez Perez as the man suspected of jumping off the back of a motorcycle on Sunday night and shooting Ortiz in the torso.
Mr Bautista said the group was offered 400,000 Dominican pesos ($7,830) to carry out the contract killing.
"It didn't just involve two people, more people took part," Mr Bautista told a press conference.
Another man linked to the plot remained at large, Mr Bautista said.
He declined to give a motive for the shooting or say who hired the attackers.
But the officers promised that they would seek justice over the incident.
"We recognise the symbolism that David Ortiz represents, and we promise that this case will be cleared up completely," Mr Bautista said.
Ortiz, widely known as Big Papi, is a sports legend in Boston for his role in three World Series baseball championships as well as his profane but inspiring remarks in the days after the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing.
He retired in 2016 after hitting 541 career home runs, which ranks 17th all-time in Major League Baseball.
Ortiz was shot while seated at an open-air nightclub in Santo Domingo, the capital of his native country. Ortiz's friend Jhoel LÃ pez, a television host, was wounded in the leg in the shooting.
