Top Rays prospect Junior Caminero gets brutal Opening Day update

With pitchers and catchers set to report this week, the Tampa Bay Rays are looking to prepare for the 2024 season.

But for top Rays prospect Junior Caminero, one of the brightest future stars in the game, it may not be the spring training he was hoping for, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times:

“Caminero, based on consensus of prospect experts, is one of the game’s top three-five young players, with the potential for superstardom. But, at least to start the season, it seems unlikely he will be among the 13 Rays position players in the big leagues.

It’s not so much that Caminero is only 20, as the Rays felt comfortable enough (albeit in desperate straits given a slew of injuries) to call him up from Double A in late September and put him on the playoff roster.

More so that he has played only 223 minor-league games and just 81 as high as Double A. His defense around the infield needs work, as does his explosive approach at the plate. He’ll have six weeks to show his readiness.”

While there were whispers that the Rays could look to trade Caminero for more immediate help with their six top prospects all being infielders, the Rays decided that his upside was too high to move on from.

Even with the uncertainty surrounding infielder Wander Franco, the Rays instead made a trade for Jose Caballero, a 27-year-old spark plug-type who spent much of his 2023 rookie season playing second base with the Seattle Mariners but played nearly 800 minor-league innings at shortstop.

Caballero will get the chance to win the job, allowing the Rays to decide later what to do if Caminero puts up big numbers the minors.