Junior Caminero trade, revisited: How Rays took advantage of 'bad' Guardians move for budding superstar

The Tampa Bay Rays have made it a habit of taking undervalued players and turning them into stars. No one exemplifies that more than star third baseman Junior Caminero.

The Rays acquired Caminero from the Cleveland Guardians in a minor deal  after the 2021 season, which turned out to be one of the biggest trade heists in recent memory. Caminero is now one of the premier sluggers in the entire league, making the Guardians miss their former prospect.

Caminero was confused at the time, wondering why Cleveland gave up on his so quickly.

"That happened really quick. In that moment, as a young player, I was surprised," he told MLB.com. "'Why did Cleveland trade me? We played just one year in the Dominican, and they traded me?' I said, 'Am I a bad guy? Why would they trade me?' But in that moment, I didn't understand baseball. Like, hey, if you get traded, it's good for you. It was an unbelievable trade. Thank God."

Now, Caminero has made the Guardians regret their trade, potentially even forcing them to change the way they approach certain deals. Here's a recap of that trade from 2021.

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Revisiting Junior Caminero trade

Rays receive:

• 3B Junior Caminero

Guardians receive:

• RHP Tobais Myers

In November of 2021, the Rays and Guardians connected for what at the time was a very minor deal involving two minor leagues. The Rays, needing to clear space on its 40-man roster, sent Tobias Myers to Cleveland, who was interested in adding the young pitcher. In return, the Rays got young infielder Junior Caminero, who had been in the Cleveland system for two years.

According to MLB.com, Caminero became the Rays' 30th-best prospect before the 2022 season, while Myers was ranked No. 22 for the Guardians' system. Neither had made their MLB debut up to that point, but both were considered intriguing young players.

Of course, the Rays went on to win the trade easily. The Guardians traded Myers to the San Francisco Giants in June of 2022 for cash considerations, and Myers would go on to play in the Chicago White Sox system before making his MLB debut with the Milwaukee Brewers. He currently plays for the New York Mets.

Caminero, meanwhile, has blossomed into being one of the best hitters in baseball, and is someone who Cleveland would love to have in their lineup.

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Why did Guardians trade Junior Caminero?

The Guardians seemingly just didn't value Caminero's talent as much as they should've, and they paid the price as a result. Just two years after the deal, when Caminero vaulted to become a top-five prospect in he league, Guardians president Chris Antonetti acknowledged how much the team lost the deal.

"That's a bad trade," he said.

In reality, the Rays did their due diligence and targeted Caminero when it became clear the Guardians were interested in trading for Myers. However, the Rays immediately realized they got a hidden gem in Caminero.

"The immediate reaction upon acquiring him was wondering how in the world we were able to make that acquisition," former Rays director of Minor League operations Jeff McLerran said. "Really from the get-go, the guys felt like we had something special with Junior. Just his ability to impact the baseball and what he could do at the plate was not something that they had seen much from a guy that age."

Caminero made his MLB debut in September of 2023, almost two years after the deal went through, at just the age of 20 years-old. Since Caminero was just 18 years-old at the time of the deal, the Guardians probably didn't see his potential success as more than a lottery ticket.

Junior Caminero stats

After getting his feet wet in the majors in 2023 and 2024, Caminero broke out in 2025 with the first of two-straight seasons with 40 home runs. Since the start of 2025, Caminero has the most home runs in the American League and second-most in the majors, just short of Kyle Schwarber.