Junior Caminero’s name already hangs over the Guardians like a bad memory. Now there’s another layer to it.
The Rays haven’t needed a signature Caminero swing to make Cleveland cringe during this year’s American League Championship Series. Just seeing him in Tampa Bay colors is enough. And with new reporting from The Athletic’s Will Sammon and Zack Mesiel, the 2021 deal looks even harder to swallow.
Nearly six years ago, Cleveland sent Caminero to the Rays as a prospect in exchange for pitcher Tobias Myers. That trade has aged brutally: Caminero has become one of baseball’s most dangerous hitters, while Myers never reached the majors with the Guardians before being designated for assignment.
But Sammon and Mesiel reported earlier today that Tampa Bay didn’t simply zero in on Caminero and stop there. The Rays also asked about other Guardians minor leaguers before the teams landed on the deal that sent Caminero away.
One of the names mentioned was former Guardians pitcher Xzavion Curry, who was in Double-A at the time. There’s no way to know exactly how Curry would have fared in Tampa Bay’s system, but his career has taken a very different route from Caminero’s.
Curry reached the majors with Cleveland in 2022 and spent two big league seasons there before being designated for assignment. He later pitched in two seasons with the Marlins and also saw some big league action with the Mets earlier this year. Caminero, meanwhile, climbed all the way to No. 1 prospect in baseball and has now produced back-to-back 40-plus homer seasons.
Sammon and Mesiel also reported that Cleveland was the only team interested in Myers. They added that his rough stretch with the Guardians was tied to his struggle to adjust to a new team and new instruction. That only sharpens the sting: the Guardians were effectively bidding against themselves for a player who didn’t settle in, while the alternative they gave up turned into a star.
There are always trade what-ifs in baseball, and Cleveland has plenty. But few carry the same weight as Caminero, especially now that he’s 23 and continuing to explode in Tampa Bay.
The Rays deserve credit for spotting a prospect worth betting on. Cleveland, though, is left with one of those moves that keeps getting worse every time new details surface.
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