Caminero finishes as runner-up in AL MVP Award voting

ST. PETERSBURG -- Junior Caminero came as close to winning the American League MVP Award as any player in Rays history.

But Tampa Bay is still waiting for its first AL MVP.

Caminero finished second behind Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez in the Baseball Writers’ Association of America voting when the results were revealed Thursday night on MLB Network. The Rays’ star third baseman finished ahead of fellow finalist Bobby Witt Jr., who came in third.

Alvarez received all 30 first-place votes, making him the 14th unanimous AL MVP. Caminero received 27 of 30 second-place votes and three third-place votes after placing ninth in last year’s balloting. With 267 points in the voting, Caminero finished well behind Alvarez (420) but comfortably ahead of Witt (188).

It wasn’t the result Caminero or the Rays were hoping for, but it was by far the highest AL MVP finish the team has ever had. That claim previously belonged to Evan Longoria and Yandy Díaz, as Longoria finished sixth in 2010 and ‘13, while Díaz did so in 2023.

Alvarez had been viewed as the favorite after leading the Majors in batting average (.316), on-base percentage (.432) and slugging percentage (.601), making him the fourth player this century to lead MLB in all three categories, alongside fellow MVPs Aaron Judge in 2025, Miguel Cabrera in 2013 and Barry Bonds in 2002.

Alvarez also led the Majors in OPS+ (190) and walks (109), among other statistics, while ranking highly in homers (42) and RBIs (106) and leading the AL in total bases (341). He joined Judge (2025) and Cabrera (2012-13) as the only players since 1970 to win the AL batting title while hitting at least 40 homers.

But Caminero, who on Wednesday night was named to the All-MLB First Team, was a clear second behind Alvarez for a few reasons.

For one, he was in the starting lineup at third base for all 162 regular-season games. Having to play defense on a daily basis was an argument in his favor against Alvarez, who was mostly a DH for the Astros.

Caminero was also the best player on the AL’s best team, having played a huge role for the 98-win Rays as they put together the best record in the league and eventually reached the World Series. While his numbers weren’t quite as dominant as Alvarez’s, he slashed .276/.360/.524 with 42 homers, 101 RBIs, a 144 OPS+ and a team-high 5.8 wins above replacement (per Baseball Reference).

“He's as critical a player to our success as we have,” president of baseball operations Erik Neander said earlier this month. “It’s not lost on us what kind of not just talent we have, but what kind of character we have, what kind of professional we have, what kind of drive Junior has within him to not be satisfied with the two unbelievable seasons that he's had, but just the obsession to continue to get better.”

That much became evident early on this season, when Caminero quickly showed that he was a more well-rounded hitter than the young slugger who bashed 45 homers while driving in 110 runs a year ago.

Caminero maintained his elite bat speed and raw power but also worked nearly twice as many walks (79) as he did in 2025 (41), boosting his on-base percentage from .311 to .360, while slightly lowering his strikeout rate from 19.1% to 18.4%.

That incredibly quick improvement helped make the 23-year-old Caminero one of the league’s best all-around hitters and an MVP candidate in only his second full Major League season.

“Surprised, but not surprised at the same time. Just exceptionally talented [and] as driven as he is talented,” Neander said. “His feedback loop from getting feedback, constructive criticism, processing it and applying it, oftentimes that's an offseason, right? ‘All right, next year I’m going to come back and I’m going to address that, and I'm going to be better for it next year.’ With Junior, it takes like 20 minutes.”

At this rate, it may not be much longer before the Rays have their first MVP.

“It's remarkable just how quick he can observe, process and apply adjustments to his craft. Give him a tremendous amount of credit for that. And I think we saw that over the course of the season,” Neander said. “As talented as he is, I think what truly separates him is his desire to not just be a star, but act like a star, work like a star and be that kind of behavioral example at even a young age for others to follow.”