Rays’ prospect Junior Caminero has been positioned on the minor league injured record as a result of a quad pressure. Tampa Bay supervisor Kevin Money says it’s a Grade 2 pressure and that the infielder is prone to miss 4 to 6 weeks. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Occasions relayed the data on X.
Coming into the season, it was straightforward to think about Caminero enjoying a big position for the Rays. He has been launching himself up prospect lists in recent times and even reached the majors final season. He didn’t hit a lot in his first 36 main league plate appearances final 12 months however he was barely 20 years outdated when referred to as up late within the season.
The truth that he was even up within the majors at such a younger age speaks to his expertise and his efficiency. He hit .324/.384/.591 within the minors final 12 months between Excessive-A and Double-A, resulting in a mixed 156 wRC+ and a leap over the Triple-A degree.
As 2024 kicked off, he was thought of a consensus high 5 prospect within the sport. Baseball America had him at #2, ESPN at #3 FanGraphs and MLB Pipeline at #4, with Keith Legislation of The Athletic placing him within the #5 spot.
Sadly, accidents have made 2024 a principally misplaced season for Caminero to this point. The Rays deliberate for him to begin the 12 months within the minors, optioning him pretty early in Spring Coaching, the second week of March. He landed on the minor league injured record in early April as a result of a quad pressure and is now again in the identical place but once more.
Round his injured record stints, he has appeared in 34 Triple-A video games and stepped to the plate 153 occasions. His .261/.333/.478 batting line interprets to a 106 wRC+, indicating he’s been above common however not outrageously so. Maybe that’s as a result of harm interruptions with higher outcomes to be anticipated with an extended stretch of well being.
That can now have to attend, doubtless into July, contemplating the time-frame offered by Money. For the staff, that can go away them with much less infield depth for the subsequent few weeks. Caminero has performed all 4 infield spots in his minor league profession however has principally been at Triple-A this season, maybe suggesting that’s the place the Rays view his future house. Isaac Paredes is presently the common on the sizzling nook and is enjoying nicely, although he’s able to shifting elsewhere sooner or later down the road if Caminero forces his method into the large leagues.
Brandon Lowe and Yandy Díaz are getting a lot of the enjoying time at second and first base, respectively, however every is about to make an eight-figure wage within the subsequent two seasons. Given the Rays’ penchant for buying and selling gamers once they attain that place, it wouldn’t be a shock to see a state of affairs whereby Caminero comes up and takes over third base, shifting Paredes to the opposite facet of the diamond and thus bumping one other participant into the designated hitter slot and later onto the buying and selling block.
All of that can stay theoretical for now, significantly with Caminero on the shelf. For the participant, it’s undoubtedly a irritating state of affairs, as he’s lacking loads of time in a key improvement season. Since that is all taking place within the minor leagues, it’s additionally stopping him from shifting his service clock ahead. Caminero was capable of get ten service days throughout his transient debut final 12 months. His early-season harm already prevented him from attending to the one-year mark right here in 2024, which means he can’t attain free company till after 2030 on the earliest. A call-up within the first half might have put him on observe for Tremendous Two standing after 2026, however that’s doubtless out the window now with this additional harm.
