Major League Baseball infielders Junior Caminero and Geraldo Perdomo will both officially play for the Dominican Republic at the 2026 World Baseball Classic. They both hail from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
Dominican Republic manager Albert Pujols announced Monday that Caminero, 22, will play with his squad. The Tampa Bay Rays slugger finished ninth in American League MVP voting in 2025, hitting .264/.311/.535 with 45 home runs and 110 RBIs.
Caminero was ranked sixth on MLB Pipeline’s prospect list before his promotion to the major leagues in September 2023. Since then, he’s emerged as one of the better power hitters in baseball, finishing second in this past season’s Home Run Derby to Cal Raleigh of the Seattle Mariners.
Perdomo, a 26-year-old shortstop with the Arizona Diamondbacks, announced his intention to represent the D.R. at the 2026 WBC on a recent episode of the Abriendo Sports podcast.
The 2023 All-Star had a breakout offensive season in 161 games in 2025, posting career highs in home runs (20), RBIs (100), OPS (.851), and OPS+ (136). Perdomo became the first D-backs shortstop to record 100 or more RBIs in a season, and he finished fourth in the National League MVP voting.
Pujols can use Caminero at third base or designated hitter, and Perdomo, a primary shortstop, can also play second base. Caminero’s role with the club may be relegated to the bench if Manny Machado and Jose Ramirez are with the team, as expected.
In preparation for the WBC, the Dominican Republic will play two exhibition games against the Detroit Tigers at Estadio Quisqueya Juan Marichal in Santo Domingo from March 3-4. The games will be played in memory of the lives lost at the Jet Set nightclub disaster in Santo Domingo this past April.
The Dominican Republic will compete in Pool D against the Netherlands, Venezuela, Israel and Nicaragua. Their opening game of the WBC is on March 5 against Nicaragua.
WBN WBC: https://worldbaseball.com/league/wbc/
Photo: Arizona Diamondbacks’ Geraldo Perdomo, front left, reaches third base safely in front of Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Junior Caminero, right, on a ball hit by Diamondbacks’ Josh Naylor in the first inning during a baseball game, Thursday, April 24, 2025, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
