Junior Caminero’s name already lands like a gut punch in Cleveland. Now there’s another layer to why the Guardians’ decision to send him to Tampa Bay looks so brutal.
The big headline from the 2021 trade has never changed: Cleveland dealt Caminero to the Rays for pitcher Tobias Myers, and that move has aged miserably for the Guardians. Caminero has turned into one of the game’s best hitters, while Myers never reached the majors with Cleveland before being designated for assignment.
But reporting from The Athletic’s Will Sammon and Zack Mesiel makes the whole thing sting even more. According to their report, the Rays initially asked the Guardians about other minor leaguers before the teams landed on Caminero.
One of the names mentioned was former Guardians pitcher Xzavion Curry, then in Double-A. There’s no way to know how Curry’s path would have changed in Tampa Bay, but his career has gone in a very different direction from Caminero’s. Curry debuted in the big leagues with Cleveland in 2022, spent two seasons with the Guardians before being designated for assignment, then pitched in two seasons with the Marlins and also saw big league action with the Mets earlier this year.
Caminero, meanwhile, has shot all the way to the top. He became the No. 1 prospect in baseball and has produced back-to-back 40-plus-homer seasons. For Cleveland, that only sharpens the pain.
Sammon and Mesiel also reported that the Guardians were the only team in on Myers, and they attributed his rough time in Cleveland to an inability to adjust to a new team and new instruction. That means the Guardians weren’t just outbid - they were really negotiating against themselves for the player they ended up getting.
The Rays deserve credit for finding Caminero and treating him like a worthwhile lottery ticket. But the added detail from this reporting only highlights how one trade can snowball into something far bigger than anyone expected.
What would have been a bad deal already is now the kind of move that hangs around for years, especially with Caminero still only 23 and still making Cleveland’s choice look worse every time he steps on the field.
In Other News...
Guardians Schedule Change Created An Unusual MLB Playoff Ripple
MLBs postseason calendar picked up an odd little domino effect Wednesday, with the league moving Game 4 of the NLCS between the Dodgers and Brewers up an hour to 8 p.m. ET. The change did not come out of nowhere. It followed the earlier decision to shift ALCS Game 3 between the Guardians and Rays from 6 p.m. ET to 1 p.m. ET because of expected inclement weather, a reminder of how one playoff adjustment can ripple across the rest of the bracket.
For Cleveland fans, the practical part is simple: the team confirmed that tickets and parking passes will still work for the new start time. The bigger picture is a postseason schedule that can still bend quickly around weather, TV and the rest of the leagues needs, even as the Guardians try to stay focused on the field rather than the clock. [Read more 🡒]
Gavin Williams Is Giving Guardians Fans Another Reason To Believe
Gavin Williams has already done his share to fuel Clevelands October run, and now he is looking to add something else to the mix as the Guardians head into the next round. The young starting pitcher said he wants to be a more vocal leader as the club prepares for Game 3 of the American League Championship Series, a sign of how quickly he has grown from power arm to one of the voices in the room.
Williams backed up that confidence with his latest outing, throwing 5.2 scoreless innings with 12 strikeouts in the series-clinching win over the Chicago White Sox. Cleveland now turns to a Game 3 matchup with the Tampa Bay Rays, set for 1 PM ET Thursday after a weather-related delay from the original 6 PM start, and the Guardians will be hoping their emerging starter brings the same edge both on the mound and in the clubhouse. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians Return Home With Their Biggest ALCS Opportunity Yet
The American League Championship Series now shifts to Progressive Field with the Guardians and Rays tied 1-1 after a split of the first two games. For Cleveland, the move home brings a chance to turn a balanced matchup into a real edge, with three straight games in front of their own fans and the opportunity to put pressure back on Tampa Bay.
Gavin Williams is lined up to start the next game for Cleveland, adding another layer of intrigue as the Guardians try to take control on familiar turf. Winning at least two of the three in Cleveland would give them a significant advantage in the series, and the coming stretch could end up shaping the direction of their October run. [Read more 🡒]