JUNIOR CAMINERO NEWS

Rays recall MLB's No. 2 prospect Junior Caminero from minors

The No. 2-rated prospect in Major League Baseball, Junior Caminero, was recalled by the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday.

AUGUST 13

Rays promote top prospect 3B Junior Caminero The Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday called up rookie third baseman Junior Caminero, who is ranked the No.2 prospect in baseball by MLB Pipeline.It...

AUGUST 13 • NEWSOBSERVER.COM

Officially called up The Rays recalled Caminero from Triple-A Durham on Tuesday, Tricia Whitaker of Bally Sports Sun reports.

Impact The Rays top prospect will make his 2024 MLB debut, taking Curtis Mead's spot on the active roster. Caminero missed time with a strained quad but has slashed .304/.325/.532 with five homers and an 18.1 percent K rate since coming off the minor-league IL on July 19. The right-hander should settle into a near-everyday role at third base, but could mix in at second or shortstop if needed.

AUGUST 13 • ROTOWIRE

What to expect from Junior Caminero in MLB Ding, ding, it's round two for a slugfest in St. Petersburg. The Rays are calling up No. 2 overall prospect Junior Caminero for Tuesday’s ho...

AUGUST 13 • MLB.COM

Rays calling up No. 2 overall prospect Caminero (source) ST. PETERSBURG -- After making his Major League debut unexpectedly early last September, Junior Caminero reported to Spring Training willing...

AUGUST 13 • MLB.COM

Set for MLB debut Caminero was recalled from Triple-A Durham on Monday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Impact Caminero missed a good chunk of the season at Triple-A while dealing with a quad injury, but he was activated from the 7-day injured list July 19 and is now on his way to join the big-league club. Prior to Monday's promotion, he was batting .276 with 13 home runs, 34 RBI, one stolen base and 33 runs scored in 53 games for the Bulls. Caminero has been featured primarily at third base this year (43 games) but also has experience at second base (eight games). The 21-year-old also logged 29 games at shortstop a season ago.

AUGUST 13 • ROTOWIRE

Activated from Triple-A IL Triple-A Durham activated Caminero (quadricep0 from the 7-day injured list Friday.

Impact Caminero has been out since late May with a Grade 2 left quad strain but is ready to rejoin Durham's active roster after slugging three home runs in six rehab games with the Rays' rookie-level Florida Complex League affiliate. The top prospect had slashed .261/.333/.478 with eight home runs over 153 plate appearances with Durham this season before landing on the IL. He could push for a promotion to the majors later this season, though probably not until after the trade deadline.

JULY 19 • ROTOWIRE

Activated from Triple-A IL Caminero (quad) was activated from the 7-day injured list at Triple-A Durham on Friday.

Impact Caminero has been out since late May with a Grade 2 left quad strain but is ready to rejoin Durham's active roster after homering three times in six rehab games with the Rays' Florida Complex League affiliate. The top prospect has slashed .261/.333/.478 with eight home runs over 153 plate appearances with Durham this season. He could push for a promotion to the majors later this season, although probably not until after the trade deadline.

JULY 19 • ROTOWIRE

Begins rehab assignment Caminero (quad) will begin a rehab assignment with the Rays' Florida Complex League affiliate on Tuesday, Sam Dykstra of MiLB.com reports.

Impact Caminero has been shelved since late May with a Grade 2 left quadriceps strain but has finally been cleared to return to game action. After getting in a few FCL contests, the top prospect will eventually move back up to Triple-A Durham, where he's slashed .261/.333/.478 with eight home runs over 153 plate appearances this season. Caminero could still make an impact for the Rays after the All-Star break, but at this point he probably won't be promoted until at least August.

JULY 9 • ROTOWIRE

Rays top prospect Caminero to miss 4-6 weeks with quad strain ST. PETERSBURG -- The Rays have made it clear since Spring Training that they weren’t going to rush top prospect Junior Caminero back to the...

MAY 29 • MLB.COM

Dealing with Grade 2 strain Rays manager Kevin Cash said Caminero, who was placed on the 7-day injured list at Triple-A Durham earlier Wednesday, is expected to miss 4-to-6 weeks with a Grade 2 left quadricep...

Impact The 20-year-old suffered the injury during Tuesday's game against Jacksonville and is now likely to be sidelined for at least the next month. Caminero is Tampa Bay's top prospect and has an .811 OPS for the season, though he had just two hits in 28 at-bats in the seven games preceding the injury.

MAY 29 • ROTOWIRE

Hits Triple-A IL with quad strain Triple-A Durham placed Caminero on its 7-day injured list Wednesday with a quad strain, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Impact Caminero injured his quad late in Tuesday's game against Jacksonville. He spent time on the IL earlier this season with a left quad strain, though it's not clear if it's the same leg bothering him this time around. Caminero has been in a slump lately with Durham, going 3-for-36 with a 32.5 percent strikeout rate over his last 40 plate appearances.

MAY 29 • ROTOWIRE

When will Junior's 'Wow' make Rays say 'now'? This story was excerpted from Adam Berry’s Rays Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly...

MAY 24 • MLB.COM

Jack Leiter is hot, Walker Jenkins is hurt: Minor League notes on AL teams' top prospects Notes on all of the farm systems in the American League, including how Marcelo Mayer, Junior Caminero and other top names are faring.

APRIL 15 • THEATHLETIC.COM

Why Rays optioned Caminero to Minors This story was excerpted from Adam Berry’s Rays Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly...

MARCH 12 • MLB.COM

Tampa Bay Rays 2024 top 20 prospects: Junior Caminero, Carson Williams lead the way Caminero is an early favorite for Rookie of the Year. Who else might impact the Rays this season? Who are their sleeper prospects?

FEBRUARY 12 • THEATHLETIC.COM

Rays top prospect Caminero making a statement in winter ball Few prospects accomplished more in 2023 than Junior Caminero, who hopped from Double-A to the Majors down the stretch for the playoff-bound...

DECEMBER 2, 2023 • MLB.COM

Cleveland Baseball Insider's 2023 End Of Season Top 50 Prospects: No. 41 OF prospect Jose Pirela Pirela was a Dominican Summer League All-Star in his first season hitting the most HR’s in the league by a Guardians player since Junior Cam...

NOVEMBER 22, 2023 • KANSASCITY.COM

Caminero cranks first LIDOM homer to continue strong winter start Junior Caminero has been tearing up the ball all winter in the Dominican Republic. On Tuesday, he finally put an exclamation mark on what ha...

NOVEMBER 15, 2023 • MLB.COM

Not in Game 1 lineup Caminero is not in the lineup for Tuesday's Game 1 of the Wild Card Series against the Rangers.

Impact Caminero did make the Rays' roster, but he will not be in the lineup for the series opener after starting the final seven regular-season games. Tampa Bay is going with Taylor Walls at shortstop and Curtis Mead at second base Tuesday.

OCTOBER 3, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Hits first major league home run Caminero went 2-for-6 with a solo homer, two RBI and two runs scored in Sunday's 12-8 win over the Blue Jays.

Impact Caminero got an RBI-single in the second and then launched an opposite field home run off Tim Mayza in the fifth for his first big league blast. The 19-year-old phenom slashed .235/.278/.353 with seven RBI, four runs and a 2:8 BB:K in 36 plate appearances since he was called up and should be in the mix to make the postseason roster for the Rays.

OCTOBER 2, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Connor Wong nabs Junior Caminero | 09/27/2023 Connor Wong retires Junior Caminero at first base for the second out of the top of the 1st inning

SEPTEMBER 28, 2023 • MLB.COM

Eventful big-league debut Caminero went 1-for-4 with a walk and a run scored in Saturday's 7-6 win over the Blue Jays.

Impact Making his MLB debut after having just turned 20 years old in July, Caminero collected his first career hit in the third inning, a line-drive single to left field that left his bat with an exit velocity of 112 mph. The Rays' top prospect was then a key figure in his team's comeback rally in the ninth, beating out a potential inning-ending double-play grounder to set the stage for Josh Lowe's walkoff hit. Caminero was slashing .342/.404/.747 over his final 20 games with Double-A Montgomery prior to his promotion, and he seems to have carried that confidence with him to the majors. With Tampa Bay having clinched a playoff spot with Saturday's victory, he could see regular action over the final week of the regular season and potentially even find his way onto the postseason roster if he keeps raking.

SEPTEMBER 24, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Debuting as designated hitter Caminero will bat fifth and serve as the designated hitter in his major-league debut Saturday against the Blue Jays, Steve Carney of StPeteNine.com reports.

Impact Caminero was called up straight from Double-A on Friday spent his first day on the roster watching from the bench. Whether that was a sign that we shouldn't expect to see him too often over the remainder of the season or merely an attempt to ease his transition to the highest level is not yet clear. The latter would seem to be more likely given that the Rays are confident installing him right in the middle of the order in his debut.

SEPTEMBER 23, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Not in Friday's lineup Caminero is not in the lineup for Friday's contest versus the Blue Jays, Ryan Bass of Bally Sports Sun reports.

Impact Caminero was officially promoted from Double-A Montgomery to the big leagues earlier Friday, but he will have to wait to make his first start. It wouldn't seem to be a great sign for his playing time outlook down the stretch, although perhaps Tampa Bay just wanted to given the youngster a day to settle in. Curtis Mead is at third base Friday and Osleivis Basabe is handling shortstop.

SEPTEMBER 22, 2023 • ROTOWIRE