Brett Taylor, proprietor over at Bleacher Nation and friend of BCB, posted today about an appearance Starlin Castro's agent Paul Kinzer made on MLB Network Radio. You can hear the snippets through a link at BN, but here's what Brett summarized from the radio broadcast:
In addition to confirming that, per the police in the DR, Castro has been cleared of any involvement in the shooting, Kinzer got into what comes next for Castro. The most important bit is that Kinzer, Theo Epstein, and Jed Hoyer have all spoken to Castro about these issues, and Castro is in the process of trying to find a place to live in Florida or in Arizona, according to Kinzer.
This would be very wise on Castro's part, in my view. Castro certainly makes enough money to be able to move as many family members as he wants to the USA, and living in Arizona, for example, would put him in a place where he'd be close to Cubs facilities where he could work out during the offseason. I agree completely with Brett's take:
you hate the thought of having to tell someone that they’ve got to leave their hometown and home country, but it feels like there are some serious safety concerns at play for Castro because of his extreme notoriety in his small town.
He won't turn 25 until March, and Castro has the chance to have an outstanding baseball career and he's under contract to the Cubs for at least the next five seasons. It's in the interest of everyone involved -- the Cubs, Castro and his family -- to find him a place to be where he can make the most of his baseball talent.