Junior Caminero and Jonathan Aranda have looked right at home in October, and Rays manager Kevin Cash thinks their World Baseball Classic reps helped make that possible.
Caminero made the comparison himself last Saturday while standing in the on-deck circle before an at-bat in Game 1 of the American League Division Series. With more than 40,000 Rays and Yankees fans packed into Tropicana Field, the third baseman told Cash the scene reminded him of March, when he played for the Dominican Republic at Miami’s loanDepot park.
That wasn’t just a passing thought. Caminero came into the postseason with only two playoff at-bats on his résumé, both from the 2023 AL Wild Card Series against the Rangers. Since then, he has handled the moment well, going 3-for-10 with a double and two runs scored as Tampa Bay swept New York in the ALDS.
Aranda’s October has followed a similar path. Before this season, the first baseman had only one career postseason at-bat, also against Texas in 2023. But after his March run with Team Mexico, he has delivered for Tampa Bay this month, too.
At the World Baseball Classic, Aranda hit .357/.438/.643 with a home run in four games at Houston’s Daikin Park. He carried that form into the ALDS, where he supplied the only run in Game 1 with a 417-foot homer off Gerrit Cole and finished the series at .333/.385/.583. He also drove in a run with a single in Wednesday’s clinching win.
Cash sees a straight line between those Classic stages and what both players are doing now.
“I go back to the WBC,” Cash said. “If you ask those two individuals you’re talking about, I think they would say that that environment in the WBC is as intense as any environment that they’ve witnessed in their careers.
“We know that both of those guys really took off for their countries; whether it was the Dominican Republic or Team Mexico, they were huge parts of their success. The big at-bats, the big hits, I think it really helped them. And more than anything, they were excited to get the opportunity to do this now in Major League playoff baseball.”
Cash pointed to the atmosphere in Miami’s Pool D, where the Dominican Republic and eventual champion Venezuela played in front of sellout crowds full of noise and national pride. He also noted the strong partisan support Mexico drew in Houston’s Pool B, especially for its matchup with the United States.
“I don’t think you can say the moment’s been too big for either of them,” Cash said, again linking their Classic experience to their October poise. “I think they had really good, strong series in the DS. I think those two guys have had tremendous at-bats for us.”
In Other News...
Rays Just Created An ALCS Edge Fans Will Argue About
The Rays spent the ALDS doing what they do best, keeping the Yankees from ever finding a foothold and moving through the matchup in a clean sweep. By the time they wrapped up on Oct. 7, Tampa Bay had already put itself in position to sit back, reset and wait for its next opponent, whether that ends up being the Guardians or the White Sox.
That pause matters in a postseason where every bullpen decision gets magnified, and it could leave Tampa Bay with a real edge when the ALCS begins on Monday at Tropicana Field. The Rays did not have to lean hard on their pitching staff in the first round, which means the group should be fresher than the club waiting on the other side of the bracket, and that is the sort of advantage opposing fans will debate right away if the series starts going their way. [Read more 🡒]
Red Sox Catcher Search Keeps Pointing To One Familiar AL East Name
The Rays have spent the offseason reminding the rest of the AL East how quickly roster-building can pay off when the right mix of trades, a Rule 5 Draft swing and a targeted free-agent addition come together. It was the sort of formula that helped fuel their run to the ALCS, and it is also the backdrop for any club around the division looking for ways to solve a weakness without overcommitting long term.
Bostons search for catching help has already taken one familiar path through the division, with Hunter Feduccia once a Red Sox target before landing with the Dodgers and settling in as a backup. The Orioles, meanwhile, could be heading into their own bullpen churn, with Andrew Kittredge and Keegan Akin both in line to reach free agency and Akin still working back from Tommy John surgery, a reminder that the AL Easts roster chessboard never stays still for long. [Read more 🡒]
Where This Rays Team Already Stacks Up Against 2008 And 2020
The Rays are back in the American League Championship Series again, and that alone puts this group in rare company. It is only the third time in franchise history theyve reached this stage, which makes the natural comparison with the 2008 and 2020 clubs hard to avoid. Those earlier teams each carved out their own place in Rays lore, one built on the clubs first breakthrough and the other on a pandemic-shortened season that still demanded a ton of poise, talent and resilience.
This current group has already done enough over the course of the season and early October to belong in that conversation, with a strong regular season and a convincing run through the postseason so far. The question now is not whether this Rays team is worthy of standing next to those others, but whether it can keep going far enough to leave its own permanent mark on the franchise timeline. [Read more 🡒]