Junior Caminero just turned 23-years old in July and has only completed two full seasons at the Major League level but he has a place in Tampa Bay Rays history as the only player to be a finalist for the coveted Most Valuable Player award.
Caminero was named a finalist for the award along with Yordan Alvarez of the Houston Astros and Bobby Witt Jr over the Kansas City Royals. Caminero is guarenteed to finish at least in the top three for the MVP award. In franchise history, Evan Longoria had the highest
MVP placement, ranking 6th in both 2010 and 2013.
Becoming just the 4th player in team history to play in all 162 regular season games, Junior Caminero hit .276/.360/.524 with 42 HR over 702 PA, registering a 142 wRC+, accruing a team high 5.3 fWAR which tied him with Miguel Vargas for 5th highest in the American League among position players. Caminero’s 42 homeruns tied him with Yordan Alvarez for second most in the league, finishing 1 HR shy of Pete Alonso for the league lead. Defensively, Caminero ranked 7th among all third basemen with 5 DRS.
During the regular season, Caminero had some shining moments. There was a game in June where Junior Caminero launched three homeruns in a single game, during a stretch in which he hit 11 HR over 11 games, averaging a homerun once every 4.5 plate appearances. Then, in late September, it was Caminero who launched a walk off homerun against the Houston Astros to clinch the Rays first trip to the postseason since 2023.
Despite only being 23-years old, Caminero already has played in four seasons at the big league level. He is the only player in team history to have two 40-homerun seasons and his 131 career wRC+ ranks 3rd in franchise history among hitters with at least 700 PA. Caminero’s 94 HR are 10th in team history and he is likely to overtake several players in a full 2027 season.
Caminero was named an American League All-Star and competed in the homerun derby for the second straight year. He is likely to take home his first Silver Slugger award as the top offensive third baseman in the American League.
The winners of the Most Valuable Player award will be announced live on MLB Network on Thursday, November 12th at 7 p.m.
