Rays' Junior Caminero: Power surge continues vs. Yankees
Rotowire
Caminero went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run in Thursday's loss to the Yankees.
Caminero belted his fifth long ball of the young season in the third inning, pushing the Rays in front 3-1. The former top prospect has left the yard in four of his last six games, and he's slashing a promising .288/.324/.545 with two doubles, 11 RBI and 13 runs scored through his first 71 plate appearances of the campaign.
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Rays' Junior Caminero: Sitting Saturday
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Caminero isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Rangers, Ryan Bass of FanDuel Sports Network Sun reports.
After starting the season with a five-game hitting streak, Caminero has gone 0-for-7 over his last two games. He'll step aside Saturday for Curtis Mead to pick up a start at third base.
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Rays' Junior Caminero: Out of Sunday's lineup
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Caminero is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Rockies, Ryan Bass of FanDuel Sports Network Sun reports.
Caminero went 4-for-9 with a double and a run scored in the first two games of the season but will hit the bench for Sunday's series finale. Jose Caballero will instead start at third base and bat seventh.
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Rays' Junior Caminero: Good to go Sunday
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Caminero (back) is starting at third base and batting third in Sunday's spring game against the Blue Jays, Ryan Bass of FanDuel Sports Network Sun reports.
The 21-year-old exited Thursday's game due to back tightness but will return to the field after taking a couple days off. Caminero is expected be a key lineup piece for the Rays in 2025 after he posted a .723 OPS in 43 games as a rookie last year.
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Rays' Junior Caminero: Launches fifth homer
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Caminero went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 7-1 loss to the Tigers.
Caminero took Keider Montero deep in the third inning for his fifth home run of the season. The 21-year-old Caminero has been a full-time starter at the hot corner since being called up Aug. 13, slashing .250/.306/.426 with five home runs, 15 RBI, 13 runs scored and two stolen bases in 39 games.
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Rays' Junior Caminero: Day off Thursday
Rotowire
Caminero is not in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Red Sox.
It will be just his second day off since being promoted in mid-August and his first time out of the lineup in four weeks. Jose Caballero will cover third base for the Rays on Thursday while Taylor Walls holds down shortstop.
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Rays' Junior Caminero: Smacks three-run homer Saturday
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Caminero went 1-for-4 with a three-run home run, a walk and an additional run scored in Saturday's 11-4 win over the Padres.
Caminero walked and scored in the first inning and then gave the Rays a 5-2 lead on a 429-foot home run in the second. In his last 10 games, the 21-year-old has gone deep three times with six RBI and is slashing a solid .254/.319/.460 across 69 major-league plate appearances this season.
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Rays' Junior Caminero: Hits first homer of season
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Caminero went 2-for-4 with a solo home run, a double and an additional run scored in Friday's 7-3 loss to the Dodgers.
Caminero was out of the lineup Thursday, and the rest appeared to work well for him. He went yard in the first inning for his first homer over 10 games in the majors this year, and he scored again after getting aboard on a double in the third. This was Caminero's third multi-hit effort since his Aug. 13 recall, and he's batting .265 with two extra-base hits, two RBI and two stolen bases over 39 plate appearances.
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Rays' Junior Caminero: Receiving afternoon off
Rotowire
Caminero is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Athletics.
For the first time since getting called up from Triple-A Durham on Aug. 13, Caminero will head to the bench, breaking a stretch of eight consecutive starts. Jose Caballero will pick up the start at third base Thursday, but Caminero is viewed as the organization's long-term answer at the hot corner and should handle a near-everyday role down the stretch.
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Rays' Junior Caminero: On base three times in win
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Caminero went 2-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base in Saturday's 6-1 win over the Diamondbacks.
The 21-year-old has hit the ground running, literally and figuratively, since being called up Tuesday. Over four games, Caminero is batting .385 (5-for-13) with a 3:3 BB:K, and he's also gone 2-for-2 in stolen base attempts, a surprising performance considering he'd gone only 1-for-2 in 53 games this season at Triple-A and has never swiped more than seven bags in a minor-league season. He did register a sprint speed in the 83rd percentile during his time in the majors in 2023, however, and with the Rays making the running game a point of emphasis -- they went 4-for-4 as a team on steal attempts Saturday, and sit fourth in MLB and first in the AL with 141 SBs on the season -- the top prospect could have more to offer on the basepaths. Caminero is still looking for his first extra-base hit since his promotion, but it should come soon enough considering his .222 ISO for Triple-A Durham.
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Rays' Junior Caminero: Logs first big-league steal
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Caminero went 0-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base in Wednesday's 2-1 extra-inning loss to the Astros.
Caminero has gone 1-for-7 with a walk and three strikeouts over his first two major-league games this season. He's started against both a left-hander and a right-hander in those contests, which suggests the Rays are willing to let the top prospect handle an everyday role initially. His steal Wednesday was his first in the majors, though it's not likely to be a big part of his game since he's never stolen more than 12 bases across all levels in a single year.
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Rays' Junior Caminero: Officially called up
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The Rays recalled Caminero from Triple-A Durham on Tuesday, Tricia Whitaker of Bally Sports Sun reports.
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 he could mix in at second or shortstop if needed.
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Rays' Junior Caminero: Activated from Triple-A IL
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Triple-A Durham activated Caminero (quadricep0 from the 7-day injured list Friday.
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.
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Rays' Junior Caminero: Dealing with Grade 2 strain
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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 quadriceps strain, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
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.
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Rays' Junior Caminero: Hits Triple-A IL with quad strain
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Triple-A Durham placed Caminero on its 7-day injured list Wednesday with a quad strain, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
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.
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Rays' Junior Caminero: Draws start at second base in minors
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Caminero made his first start of the season at second base with Triple-A Durham on Tuesday and went 3-for-6 with a home run, two RBI and an additional run.
The start at second base came on the same day Brandon Lowe visited a specialist due to continued concerns with his right oblique. Lowe ultimately received good news, and the expectation is that he will be able to resume his rehab assignment with Durham soon. However, it's notable that the Rays seem to be prepping Caminero as a contingency plan at second base, a position he hadn't started a game at since 2022. Caminero is slashing a robust .316/.385/.582 with seven long balls on the season. Prior to Tuesday, he had been exclusively playing third base for Durham.
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Rays' Junior Caminero: Goes through workout Tuesday
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Caminero (quad) took batting practice and fielded grounders prior to Triple-A Durham's game Tuesday, Patrick Kinas of Westwood One Sports reports.
Caminero is eligible for activation from the 7-day injured list now and his return looks to be imminent as long as he can avoid a setback with his left quad. The 20-year-old went 4-for-12 with a home run in his first three games for Durham before getting injured. All three starts for Caminero came at third base.
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Rays' Junior Caminero: Lands on MiLB IL
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Caminero (quadriceps) was placed on the 7-day injured list Monday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Topkin notes that Caminero was diagnosed with a relatively minor left quad strain after being lifted from Triple-A Durham's game Sunday. If all goes well, the 20-year-old top prospect could return to play sometime next week.
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Rays' Junior Caminero: Sent down to minor-league camp
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The Rays optioned Caminero to minor-league camp Monday.
The top prospect got a cup of coffee with Tampa Bay last season, but the feeling has been for a while that Caminero was destined for Triple-A Durham to begin 2024. The 20-year-old will be making his first stop at Durham, as he skipped over that level when he was promoted in 2023. Caminero still has a good shot to spend ample time in the majors in 2024, particularly if he can make some strides with his defense.
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Rays' Junior Caminero: Hits first major-league home run
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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.
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 20-year-old phenom slashed .235/.278/.353 with seven RBI, four runs and a 2:8 BB:K in 36 plate appearances after he was called up. He should be in the mix to make the postseason roster for the Rays.
