The Rays bring in star prospect Junior Caminero

ST PETERSBURG — In search of their fifth American League East title, the Rays are adding one of baseball’s best prospects to their roster.

Tampa Bay has clinched a postseason berth for the fifth year in a row, but they have their sights set on catching Baltimore in the race for the division title. The Rays open the series against the Blue Jays on Friday at Tropicana Field. They are 1.5 games behind the OriolesBaltimore will be favored when it comes to a tiebreaker.

Caminero will add a high-impact bat to Tampa Bay’s lineup. After dominating High-A in 36 games with Bowling Green, the right-hander is slashing .309/.373/.548 with 20 home runs in 81 games with Montgomery, which ended Thursday night. He is primarily a third baseman, but has also shown the ability to play shortstop.

Caminero, who turns 20 on July 5, will be the youngest player in the major leagues upon his official promotion. The Rays acquired him in a November 2021 trade for right-hander Tobias Myers. Considering Caminero had only played 43 professional games in the Dominican Summer League, it was a relatively low-profile acquisition at the time.