AL-best Rays send 4 to All-Star Game, including starter Caminero

HOUSTON -- The American League-leading Tampa Bay Rays will send four All-Stars to Philadelphia for the 96th Midsummer Classic.

Junior Caminero headlines the selections being voted by the fans -- earning 66% of the final vote over Blue Jays’ Kazuma Okamoto -- as the starting third baseman for the AL.

“I want to tell the fans thank you for getting me sent to Philly,” Caminero said. “I feel really good. When you put in 100 percent of your ability, and the fans vote for you, it’s amazing.”

This is the second straight All-Star Game selection for Caminero. He joins Evan Longoria as the only third baseman in Rays history to earn a fan selection.

“He’s incredibly deserving, and the last month, he’s put us more on a national stage because of what he does with a bat in his hands,” manager Kevin Cash said.

Caminero is slated to become the first player in Rays franchise history to start two All-Star Games.

“Caminero is rewriting history right now,” Cash said. “So I’m glad he’s going to go represent the Rays in the [Home Run] Derby and then the game.”

Joining Caminero are starting pitcher Drew Rasmussen, closer Bryan Baker and designated hitter Yandy Díaz. This marks the first All-Star selection for Baker, and the second for Rasmussen and Díaz, respectively.

“Super proud of all of them; they all got there different ways,” Cash said. “Three of them, it’s their second nominations. And for Bryan Baker his first; that first one’s always special.”

In his sixth Major League season, Baker was “shocked” when he was told he made his first All-Star team, followed by a sense of gratitude.

“Definitely not something I expected coming into the year,” Baker said. “It’s a pleasant surprise, for sure.”

At 34 years old, Díaz will make his second All-Star Game roster for the Rays. He was voted in through the player balloting. His first selection came in 2023.

“I feel and think I’m still 20 years old,” Díaz said through an interpreter. “I’m not having that 34-year-old age in mind. It feels good that the league is recognizing me and giving me the chance to be an All-Star.”

Along with the four selections, Cash believes players like designated hitter Jonathan Aranda and pitchers Shane McClanahan, Kevin Kelly and Nick Martinez should have All-Star consideration from the AL’s best team.

“I think they’re all All-Star worthy,” Cash said. “I hope there’s some consideration moving forward. I know guys can’t go for whatever reason, and I hope our guys are considered, because they’ve performed like All-Stars for us.”

Let’s look at each of the players who will represent the Rays at the 2026 All-Star Game at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia on July 14:

Junior Caminero, 3B
Previous All-Star appearances: 1 (2025)
Something to know: Caminero didn’t initially make last year’s All-Star team, but he wound up starting at third base in his first trip to the Midsummer Classic during his 45-homer, 110-RBI season. He’s only gotten better this season, improving his plate discipline and becoming one of the game’s best all-around hitters in just his second full Major League season. And, of course, everyone knows Caminero hits the ball as hard and as far as anybody, with the fastest bat in the Majors and the franchise-record-tying home run streak to show for it. He's back in the Home Run Derby this year after finishing as the runner-up a year ago, and he has not made his goal a secret: He wants to win it all this time.

Yandy Díaz, DH
Previous All-Star appearances: 1 (2023)
Something to know: This trip to the All-Star Game should be a little less hectic than Díaz’s first in ’23, when he made a quick round trip to Seattle, hit a home run as the AL’s starting first baseman and got home in time for the birth of his son. Otherwise, this season has been a lot like that career-best campaign for Díaz. He’s combined his typically disciplined at-bats and incredible ability to make consistently hard contact, and he’s putting those big biceps to good use by showing a little more power at the plate. Arguably the Majors’ most underrated hitter, Díaz has been used exclusively as a DH this year.

Drew Rasmussen, RHP
Previous All-Star appearances: 1 (2025)
Something to know: Among pitchers who have worked at least 500 innings since 2021, Rasmussen has the second-lowest ERA in the Majors behind only the Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani. After not making last year’s All-Star squad, he was eventually named to the team and pitched a scoreless inning in his Midsummer Classic debut. The right-hander has been better than ever this season, adding a changeup to his arsenal of fastballs and breaking balls while continuing to pound the strike zone. He was incredible in June, posting a 0.82 ERA with 39 strikeouts and only four walks in 33 innings over five starts.

Bryan Baker, RHP
Previous All-Star appearances: None
Something to know: The funny thing is that the Rays weren’t planning to have a closer this season, and they wound up with one of the best in baseball. Baker has stepped up in a huge way to fill a void created by injuries and other issues at the back end of Tampa Bay’s bullpen, ranking among the Majors’ save leaders. Using his nasty changeup more often than ever, Baker -- acquired by the Rays from the Orioles about a year ago for a Draft pick, which Baltimore used on a prospect (Slater de Brun) who wound up also being traded to Tampa Bay -- has channeled his intensity on the mound to become a shutdown presence at the end of games.