Rays' beloved superstar Junior Caminero gets reasonable $200M prediction

1 week ago 15

The Tampa Bay Rays are in the 2026 MLB World Series after beating the Cleveland Guardians in six games in the ALCS. Facing the Milwaukee Brewers won't be easy, but this team has a real chance of winning it all this year.

One of the most important players for the Rays when it comes to winning it all is infielder Junior Caminero. He's blossomed into a true superstar, and a strong World Series performance would make him a Rays franchise legend, if he isn't already.

With such a lofty status, it would stand to reason that the Rays would try to extend him. Bleacher Report's Joel Reuter is predicting a deal of at least $200 million for Caminero, which is reasonable and might even be well below the kind of deal he actually deserves.

Rays' Junior Caminero predicted to land $200M deal after another huge season

"The Rays have never signed a player to a contract worth a guaranteed $200 million, but Caminero is a face-of-the-franchise caliber superstar worth committing a significant chunk of the payroll to for the foreseeable future," Reuter writes.

While it might be uncharted territory for the Rays to spend so much on one player, and they might not be so eager to make such deals after the Wander Franco disaster, Caminero is well worth paying a fortune to lock up for the foreseeable future.

He's currently under club control through 2030, but the Rays should try to sign him to a long-term extension this offseason, ideally before the MLB lockout in December provides some uncertainty on how MLB rules will be set up.

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These last two seasons, Caminero has hit 45 and 42 homers with a combined 10.0 WAR. He might not be the best defender, but his elite offense is more than enough reason for the Rays to sign him to be the face of their franchise.

A $200 million contract for Caminero would be very expensive, but with Bobby Witt Jr. signing an 11-year, $288.8 million deal, the Rays' infielder's new contract might get closer to $300 million.

Paying Caminero $200 million would be totally reasonable, especially since other teams might be willing to spend closer to $400 million to keep someone like him around.

If there were ever a player the Rays should be okay with splurging on, it's Caminero. Reuter predicts the Rays' beloved superstar is one of the next players in line for at least $200 million on a new deal, and for the Rays, any long-term deal would be a no-brainer.