Jennifer Hoffer – Sports Editor
As Robinson Cano prepares to sit down with the Yankees to discuss and possibly obtain a 305 million dollar deal, he is on the brink of losing something more important: his son.
As Cano eyes free agency next month, he will also be scheduled to be in court.
Last month, Jackelin Castro, mother of Cano’s now three-year-old son Robinson Miguel Cano Castro, filed a child-support case.
In a recent interview with ESPN’s “Outside the Lines” segment, Castro said Cano has been absent from his son.
Cano made $15 million this season, only sparing his son 150,000 Dominican pesos twice a year. Castro should be receiving at least two million pesos, or $47,000.
Cano claims he is paying Castro the agreed-upon amount. But Castro continues to deny Cano’s responsibility to his son and said is “skimping on adequate support for him.”
Cano denies this. His publicist announced a comment on behalf Cano on Wednesday.
“I have gone above and beyond to care for my child, including an agreed upon monthly stipend, a house, a car, insurance, school, and other essentials for the baby and his mother as well as many other things including toys and clothing,” the statement said. “This is a private matter and I will not fight it in the media, nor will I say anything disparaging about the mother of my child or comment any further. I look forward to an amicable resolution that will allow me time with my son.”
Sources say the couple broke it off in 2011 after having a relationship for three years. During the time they were together, Castro flew out to New York to watch Cano play and Cano flew back home to spend time with his family.
But soon after the birth of his son, that is when sources said that communication became thin between the two.
Castro said payments have been skimp as months go on.
“It’s like a crumb because I have to chase after that money,” Castro said. “It’s not something where you get it every month on a specified date.”
Even before Castro gave birth, Cano started to distance himself late in the pregnancy. She said that Cano encouraged her to return to the Domincan to give birth without him.
“His living circumstances, financially, socially and culturally, are very, very far from what the child’s experiencing and gets,” Castro said. “It’s a very large gap. What hurts me most is he shows the world that he helps children, that he’s a good person, he’s very humane. So with something of his own, he may trick the world and everybody who sees him because he’s the big star that he is, but there’s a reality, which is a son who doesn’t receive the quality of life he’s supposed to.”
Major league baseball is aware of this situation and are not treating it as an active matter.
Cano has since switched agents from Scott Boras to Jay-Z’s Roc Nation Sports.
Cano said and continues to say that he is happy about being a father and sees a baseball career in his son’s future.
“Hopefully, he’ll be better than me. It’s hard because he’s not here,” said Cano. “You wish he was here so you could spend time with him. At the same time, he’s taken care of by his mom in the D.R.”
