The Rays usher in star prospect Junior Caminero

ST PETERSBURG — Searching for their fifth American League East title, the Rays are including one among baseball’s finest prospects to their roster.

Tampa Bay has clinched a postseason berth for the fifth 12 months in a row, however they’ve their sights set on catching Baltimore within the race for the division title. The Rays open the collection in opposition to the Blue Jays on Friday at Tropicana Area. They’re 1.5 video games behind the OriolesBaltimore shall be favored in terms of a tiebreaker.

Caminero will add a high-impact bat to Tampa Bay’s lineup. After dominating Excessive-A in 36 video games with Bowling Inexperienced, the right-hander is slashing .309/.373/.548 with 20 house runs in 81 video games with Montgomery, which ended Thursday night time. He’s primarily a 3rd baseman, however has additionally proven the power to play shortstop.

Caminero, who turns 20 on July 5, would be the youngest participant within the main leagues upon his official promotion. The Rays acquired him in a November 2021 commerce for right-hander Tobias Myers. Contemplating Caminero had solely performed 43 skilled video games within the Dominican Summer season League, it was a comparatively low-profile acquisition on the time.