Rays infielder Junior Caminero has been named a finalist for the 2025 Hank Aaron Award, Major League Baseball announced today.
Introduced in 1999 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Hank Aaron breaking
Babe Ruth’s all-time home run record, the award is presented annually to the best overall offensive performer in both the American and National Leagues. Fan voting is now open at www.MLB.com/aaron and will run through Sunday, October 12 at 11:59 p.m. E.T. A panel of MLB legends and past recipients of the award will also cast votes for this year’s honor before the winners are announced live from The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas on Thursday, November 13 during a special presentation at the MLB Awards presented by MGM Rewards.
The 22-year-old Caminero, who is attempting to become the first Rays player to win the award, is the first Tampa Bay hitter to be nominated since Yandy Díaz in 2023. In his first full major league season, Caminero hit .264/.311/.535 (159-for-602) with 28 doubles, 45 home runs, 110 RBI, 41 walks, 93 runs scored and seven stolen bases over 154 games. He ranked among AL leaders in home runs (3rd), total bases (3rd, 322), extra-base hits (T4th, 73), RBI (5th), slugging percentage (6th), OPS (10th, .846) and runs scored (10th). According to Stats Perform, Caminero became the fourth player to lead his club in games, home runs, RBI and runs scored outright as the youngest player to appear for his team that season since RBI became an official statistic in 1920, joining Kansas City’s Bobby Witt Jr. (2023-24), St. Louis Albert Pujols (2001-02) and Philadelphia’s Scott Rolen (1997-98).
His 45 home runs were second most in franchise history behind Carlos Peña’s 46 homers in 2007. It also marked the second-most home runs by any player in an age-21-or-younger season (age as of June 30) in major league history, trailing the Milwaukee Braves Eddie Mathews’ 53 long balls in 1953. Among all AL hitters, only Seattle’s Cal Raleigh (60) and New York-AL’s Aaron Judge (53) had more homers this season than Caminero, who became the youngest player to finish among the AL’s top three home run leaders since Boston’s Tony Conigliaro in 1965.
Caminero’s 110 RBI marked the most by a Rays hitter since Evan Longoria had 113 RBI in 2009 and were fourth most in franchise history, also trailing Peña in 2007 (121) and Jorge Cantú in 2005 (117). He became the second primary third baseman in AL history to record 25 doubles, 45 home runs and 110 RBI in a season, joining New York-AL’s Alex Rodriguez in 2005 and 2007. He was the first Dominican-born player to reach those marks, regardless of position, since Toronto’s José Bautista in 2010.
Caminero became the youngest player in Rays history to earn an All-Star selection and, at 22 years, 10 days old on the day of the Midsummer Classic, was the third-youngest player to start for either league at third base since the contest’s inception in 1933, older than only Mathews in 1953 (21 years, 274 days) and Cleveland’s Buddy Lewis in 1938 (21 years, 330 days). He was the youngest player in the majors to start an All-Star Game at any position since Atlanta’s Ronald Acuña Jr. in 2019 (21 years, 203 days).
