Dominican player Starlin Castro to sign huge contract extension

Dominican baseball player Starlin Castro is close to signing a long-term extension with the Cubs. The Cubs have reportedly signed Castro for at least seven years with a deal worth $60 million, according to ESPNdeportesLosAngeles.com, plus a $16 million option for 2020.

Castro is just 22, but he has been in the majors for three years. He was the first MLB player to be born in the 1990s. He has made two All-Star teams already, and he was the NL batting champion last season. He was also the youngest player to lead the NL in hits ever.

His first contract made him and his family a little bit of money. “It changed me my first year in the big leagues,” Castro said. “It changed me and my family."

But this contract will make his family financial secure for the rest of his life. Castro knows that he must focus on baseball and not slow down just because he got the big contract. Cubs teammate and fellow Dominican baseball player Alfonso Soriano has mentored him in that regard, telling him to not let the money change him or his approach to the game.

For some reason 'Starlin' is a very popular surname in the Dominican Republic. I have traveled all over Latin America and grew up in a predominetly hispanic area in Texas. And I had never heard this name before, until my first trip to the Dominican Republic in 2009. One of the first people I met in the Dominican was an assistant in the Gigantes del Cibao office and his name is Starlin. Then I started meeting and seeing Dominicans named Starlin all over.

Not sure the history of how it became to be a popular Dominican name, but it is. And the Cubs brass and fans are happy to have him locked up for seven years. He is certainly a grade A building block type of players, so they have a base to build a championship. He is from Monte Cristi, Dominican Republic.

Dominican player Starlin Castro with the Cubs, by Gamefreak777