How Junior Caminero went from a trade chip to an AL MVP finalist

Junior Caminero’s path to being named an American League Most Valuable Player Award finalist started long before he reached the majors. The Rays acquired him from the Cleveland Guardians in a trade dated November 19, 2021, pairing the 18-year-old hitter with Tobias Myers, a major-league option Cleveland believed it could plug into its pitching plans.

Caminero came to Tampa Bay as a raw prospect rather than a polished star. The Rays moved quickly, and in his first full season with Tampa’s system in 2022 he hit.314 with an.882 OPS, doing it while being two to three years younger than much of the competition. The organization’s view, according to Jeff McLerran at the time, was that they had something special based on how the bat came off Caminero’s swing.

His major-league debut followed in September 2023. By then, MLB Pipeline ranked him as the No. 2 overall prospect, and Tampa Bay placed him on its AL Wild Card Series roster, an early sign that the Rays were willing to bet on his development at the highest level.

The production arrived in a jump. In 2025, Caminero powered a breakout with 45 home runs and 110 RBIs. A year later he built on that platform, posting a.276/.360/.524 line, finishing with 42 home runs and 101 RBIs while the Rays won 98 games and reached the World Series.

Tampa Bay’s gamble did not end with the hitter. The trade’s other side, Tobias Myers, did reach the majors and posted a 3.00 ERA in 138 innings in 2024, but the Rays’ acquisition became the headline: Caminero’s rise from prospect to MVP finalist showed how, in this case, the “prospect trade” script worked the way the best teams hope it will.

Cleveland ultimately did receive major-league value from Myers, but the outcome for the Rays was clearer at the awards level. Caminero’s 2026 season ended as an AL MVP finalist, completing the arc from an early trade piece to one of the league’s most impactful players.