The Cleveland Guardians could use a big bat for the middle of their lineup.
Unfortunately, they had one and lost him.
That’s why the Guardians’ fan account Guardians Prospective lamented the fact that Junior Caminero continues his breakout season.
— Guardians Prospective (@CleGuardPro) July 19, 2025
The Tampa Bay Rays’ third baseman is making a big name for himself with his strong play.
He finished as the runner-up to MVP candidate Cal Raleigh in the Home Run Derby, and he picked up things where he left off with the second multi-homer game of his career.
He’s now up to 25 home runs for the season, and he’s now just the fourth player in MLB history with multiple home runs in his first game after the Home Run Derby, joining a very exclusive club that features the likes of Ken Griffey Jr., Albert Pujols, and Juan Soto.
He’s also just the fifth player in Rays history with at least 25 homers in the first 100 games of a season, joining Fred McGriff, Jose Canseco, Carlos Peña, and Logan Morrison.
The Guardians could’ve certainly used that type of production, but you just can’t win all transactions.
They signed Caminero as an international free agent out of the Dominican Republic back in 2019.
With the minor league season being canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Caminero had to wait until 2021 to make his professional debut with the Rookie-level Dominican Summer League.
He dominated with a .295 batting average to go along with 33 RBI and nine homers.
The Guardians traded him to the Rays for RHP Tobias Myers, who was assigned to the Triple-A Columbus Clippers before ultimately going 1-9 with a 6.00 ERA in 14 starts.
He was designated for assignment shortly after.
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