Junior Caminero Eyes José Ramírez-Style Legacy With Rays

José Ramírez has long been the standard at third base in Cleveland, and this American League Championship Series has offered Junior Caminero a close-up look at the kind of franchise legacy he hopes to build with the Rays.

Caminero also posted 5.7 bWAR while becoming Tampa Bay’s everyday third baseman. It was another step after his 45-homer, 110-RBI season a year earlier, and it has put the 23-year-old in position for what could become the highest American League MVP finish in Rays history.

Still, Caminero sees the distance between a rising star and an established Cleveland institution. Ramírez, a seven-time All-Star, debuted on Sept. 1, 2013, when Caminero was 10 years old. By the time Caminero signed with Cleveland as an international amateur in July 2019, Ramírez had already made two All-Star teams and finished in the top five of AL MVP voting twice.

“I’m only getting started at the Major League level,” Caminero said through interpreter Kevin Vera. “He has performed at an elite level for 13 or 14 years. He deserves all the respect for doing that every day. I hope I can reach that point.”

The two Dominican third basemen have a connection beyond October baseball. They were once in the same organization, are represented by Rafa Nieves and have developed a friendship. Ramírez called Caminero his brother, praising both the friendly back-and-forth between them and the younger player’s ability.

Caminero, in turn, said Ramírez’s name is inseparable from Cleveland. To him, Ramírez is a legend of the organization and one of the game’s premier third basemen for much of the past decade.

Respect from the other dugout

Tampa Bay’s players and staff understand the assignment Ramírez presents. Griffin Jax called the Guardians’ switch-hitting star a player on a Hall of Fame path and said he is among his favorite players to watch. Drew Rasmussen went further, saying Ramírez belongs among the world’s 10 best players while remaining baseball’s most overlooked superstar.

Rays manager Kevin Cash first saw Ramírez during his own time as Cleveland’s bullpen coach in 2013 and 2014. Cash remembers a young infielder who moved between shortstop, second and third, made frequent contact and had to weather questions about whether he would secure a permanent role.

Those questions are long gone. Ramírez became an everyday fixture, then one of the defining players of his era.

A Cleveland career built to last

Ramírez made clear in 2022 that he wanted to remain with the Guardians, signing a seven-year extension. In January, he reinforced that commitment with another seven-year deal running through 2032, his age-39 season.

That choice is why teammates can picture a statue outside Progressive Field one day, near Ontario Street and Carnegie Avenue. Ramírez has not merely produced in Cleveland; he has repeatedly chosen to stay.

Cash said that willingness says plenty about both the player and the club. The manager pointed to the remarks from Guardians skipper Stephen Vogt about Ramírez’s decisions to remain in Cleveland, calling them a reflection of Ramírez’s character and the organization’s standing with its franchise player.

For Caminero, that is the model. He wants his own work in Tampa Bay to carry the same weight years from now: a player identified with one uniform, one fan base and one place in the game’s history.

“That is what you work for every day,” Caminero said. “You want your name in the history books wherever you play. I want that in Tampa Bay. Seeing what José has done is motivating, and I hope the organization and the fans remember me for a long time because I produced enough to earn that respect.”

Next on the ALCS slate

Game 3 of the American League Championship Series is scheduled for Thursday at 1 p.m. ET, with TBS, truTV, UniMas and HBO Max carrying the broadcast.