Tampa Bay Rays prospect Junior Caminero has been positioned on the minor league injured checklist on account 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 Instances relayed the knowledge on X.
Coming into the season, it was straightforward to think about Caminero taking part in 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 yr however he was barely 20 years previous when known 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 yr 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 No. 2, ESPN at No. 3 FanGraphs and MLB Pipeline at No. 4, with Keith Regulation of The Athletic placing him within the No. 5 spot.
Sadly, accidents have made 2024 a largely misplaced season for Caminero to date. The Rays deliberate for him to start out the yr within the minors, optioning him pretty early in spring coaching, the second week of March. He landed on the minor league injured checklist in early April on account of a quad pressure and is now again in the identical place but once more.
Round his injured-list 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 because of the harm interruptions with higher outcomes to be anticipated with an extended stretch of well being.
That can now have to attend, possible into July, contemplating the time-frame supplied by Money. For the workforce, that may 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 largely been at Triple-A this season, maybe suggesting that’s the place the Rays view his future residence. Isaac Paredes is presently the common on the scorching nook and taking part in nicely, although he’s able to shifting elsewhere sooner or later down the road if Caminero forces his approach into the large leagues.
Brandon Lowe and Yandy Diaz are getting a lot of the taking part in 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 situation 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 may stay theoretical for now, significantly with Caminero on the shelf. For the participant, it’s undoubtedly a irritating scenario, 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 yr. His early-season harm already prevented him from attending to the one-year mark right here in 2024, that means he can’t attain free company till after 2030 on the earliest. A call-up within the first half may have put him on observe for Tremendous Two standing after 2026, however that’s possible out the window now with this additional harm.
