Six months ago, if you knew who Junior Caminero was, it meant you were a person who either closely follows the depth chart of the Tampa Bay Rays or a fan of LIDOM’s Leones del Escogido.
Caminero, you see, had played just 50 games in the Major Leagues, all with Tampa Bay, at the end of last season, before heading back to his native Dominican Republic to play winter ball with the Leones. While baseball in the United States was dormant, Caminero dazzled in 10 regular season games with the Leones, batting .424 and going 14-for-23. In the playoffs, Caminero drove the offense for the Leones, who won the LIDOM title and a berth in the Caribbean Series a monsterous homer that ended the LIDOM championship series.
Junior Caminero hit the most crucial home run of his career: a 454 FT no doubter in the top of the 9th to put his team ahead 6-5 in Game 7 of the LIDOM final. pic.twitter.com/aXjLnXDorU
— Francys Romero (@francysromeroFR) January 28, 2025
While Caminero didn’t play in the Caribbean Series as he was preparing for the Major League Baseball series with the Rays, the homer made him a legend in LIDOM.
Now in his first full season with Tampa Bay, he continues to swing a hot bat. This past week, Caminero went 11-for-29, hitting four homers and drove in 13 runs as the Rays went 5-2 last week, earning World Baseball Network’s International MLB Player of the Week honors.
Caminero had three multi-RBI games this past week, going 3-for-6 with two runs scored and six RBIs in Tampa Bay’s 13-3 win at Houston Thursday, and then going 4-for-5 with, two homers, four runs scored, and five RBIs in a 16-3 win on Saturday. He also went 2-for-4 with a homer and two RBIs in a 5-0 win against Minnesota on May 28.
The Rays host the Texas Rangers Tuesday through Thursday and the Miami Marlins Friday through Sunday this week. Friday’s game against Miami, scheduled for 1:10 p.m. EDT, will be televised nationally on MLB Network. All Major League games are streamed live for a fee on MLB.tv.
Photo: Junior Caminero celebrates his three-run home run against the Houston Astros during the eighth inning of a baseball game Saturday, May 31, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith)
