The Águilas Cibaeñas signed today the free agents Starlin Castro (IF) and Leuris Gómez (PD), continuing with the search for native players from the Cibao area, who can supply strength to the seasoned yellow team.
In Castro, the Águilas seek to take advantage of their 12-year experience in the big leagues, with the Chicago Cubs, New York Yankees, Miami Marlins and Washington Nationals, with whom they posted a lifetime average of .280 (6,143-1,722) and bar stats of .319/.412/.722.
Castro also has 18.2 WAR, 138 home runs, and 678 RBIs. “Starlin Castro is a veteran and we hope his offense will have an impact at the Cibao stadium,” said Ovalles, Operations Manager of the eaglets. Last tournament Starlin played for the Leones del Escogido in the regular round. In 43 games he exhausted 160 at-bats, had 35 hits, for an average of .219. His offensive line was .250 / .250 / .500. In the semifinals he was selected by the Giants in the Eliminated Teams Draft and improved his performance to a .316 average, .333 / .342 / . 675, in 11 games.
LEURIS GOMEZ
On his side, Leuris Gómez is a right-handed pitcher from Moca, with the ability to open and relieve without restrictions. He is 36 years old and is a minor league veteran in the United States and Mexico. In 2022 he played with the Leones del Escogido in the Creole winter tournament, playing in 10 games, four as a starter, closed with 0-2, ERA of 2.74, his WHIP was 1.04. While with the stars he had a relief outing of 2.0 innings in the semifinal series in which he gave up one run and five hits. Gómez is a 15th round selection of the Tigres del Licey in the LIDOM Rookie draw in 2010 and played six seasons with them between 2013-2019 excelling in the 2018-19 campaign, closing with 2-0, 2.28 ERA 27 strikeouts in 27.2 innings and a 0.80 WHIP. In 2020 he was acquired by the Toros del Este and in February 2021 he signed as a free agent by the Leones del Escogido. Originally signed by the Colorado Rockies, he played 10 years from 2009 to 2019 in the United States. His minor league stats were 32-31, 4.50 ERA and 1.44 WHIP playing in 245 games, 63 starts. He then moved to Mexico where he has played both summer and winter with multiple teams.
