Rays' Junior Caminero Will Have Uphill Climb for Major Award

Will Junior Caminero be able to win a major award for the Tampa Bay Rays?

Aug 23, 2026; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Junior Caminero (13) throws out Baltimore Orioles third baseman Christian Encarnacion-Strand (32) (not pictured) after fielding a ground ball during the eighth inning at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Tampa Bay Rays have had some ups and downs of late following a great West Coast trip a couple of weeks back. However, they are still in first place in the American League and have been holding on to their lead. 

Following a disappointing homestand in which they went 2-5, the Rays are back on the road and dropped a series to the Baltimore Orioles once again on the road. The Orioles have seemingly had their number this year, but on Monday, Tampa Bay got off to a nice start against the Detroit Tigers. 

Entering Tuesday, the team is still 25 games over the .500 mark and will be seeking to have the road to the World Series go through Tampa Bay. As expected with one of the best records in all of baseball, the team has had no shortage of good performances from key players. Now, as the season starts to enter the final stretch, some players on the Rays will have a chance for some individual accolades. 

MLB.com recently polled 37 of their experts for who would win the AL MVP, and it was Junior Caminero coming in second right now behind a Triple-Crown hopeful in the AL. 

Caminero Has Tough Hill to Climb 

Aug 21, 2026; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Junior Caminero (13) hits a double during the second inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

While the talented infielder for the Rays is having an MVP-caliber season, he is running into Yordan Alvarez of the Houston Astros this year. The star slugger for the Astros is going to be in the mix for a Triple Crown this year in the AL, and that would likely be enough to bring him home AL MVP honors. 

This year, Alvarez has slashed .320/.436/.613 with 36 home runs and 90 RBI. With the star slugger currently leading the league in all of the needed categories to win the Triple Crown, his being the MVP favorite makes complete sense. 

However, Caminero is trying to keep up, and he is having an excellent campaign in his own right. So far this season, he has slashed .277/.364/.531 with 35 home runs and 84 RBI. 

The young slugger is right behind Alvarez in both home runs and RBI, and he could jump him in those categories with a little over a month to play. While it is going to be an uphill climb for Caminero, he still is going to be in the mix. A lot can happen in a month, and the success of Tampa Bay might also play a factor into the voting.