Biography
Junior Alberto Caminero Sánchez (born July 5, 2003) is a Dominican professional baseball infielder for the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2023.
Career
Cleveland Indians
Caminero signed with the Cleveland Indians as an international free agent on July 2, 2019. He did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Caminero made his professional debut in 2021 with the Rookie-level Dominican Summer League Indians and batted .295 with nine home runs and 33 runs batted in (RBIs).
Tampa Bay Rays
Cleveland traded Caminero to the Tampa Bay Rays for pitcher Tobias Myers on November 19, 2021. He began the 2022 season with the Florida Complex League Rays. Caminero was later promoted to the Charleston RiverDogs of the Single-A Carolina League and batted .314 with 11 home runs and 51 RBIs in 62 games between the two teams. After the season, he played for the Perth Heat of the Australian Baseball League. In 39 games Junior had an avg of .303 with 14 HRs and was an instant fan favourite.
Caminero was assigned to the High-A Bowling Green Hot Rods at the start of the 2023 season. He was promoted to the Double-A Montgomery Biscuits after slashing .356/.409/.685 with 11 home runs, 32 RBI, and 30 runs scored in 36 games played with the Hot Rods. Caminero was selected to play in the 2023 All-Star Futures Game. In 81 games for Montgomery, he hit .309/.373/.548 with 20 home runs and 62 RBI. On September 22, 2023, Caminero was selected to the 40-man roster and promoted to the major leagues for the first time. He made his MLB debut on September 23. Caminero won the 2023 Southern League Most Valuable Player Award and Top MLB Prospect Award for his performance with Montgomery.
Caminero was optioned to the Triple–A Durham Bulls to begin the 2024 season. He suffered a quad injury three games into Durham's season and spent the next two weeks on the injured list. He suffered a more serious quad injury on May 28, 2024.
Following the season, Caminero played winter league baseball for the Leones del Escogido of the Dominican Professional Baseball League. In Game 7 of the championship series, Caminero hit a go-ahead home run of Jairo Asencio, the closer of the Tigres del Licey in the top of the ninth inning leading to a championship for Leones.