Guardians' Junior Caminero trade hurts even more with Jose Ramirez news

1 hour ago 3

The Cleveland Guardians sure could use a guy like Junior Caminero right now.

Jose Ramirez is going to miss a large chunk of time with a broken hamate bone in his hand, and Cleveland won't be the same team without its superstar third baseman.

Obviously, things would've played out different positionally, but the Guardians once had Caminero, who is now the superstar third baseman for the Tampa Bay Rays.

The timing is a bit of an insult to injury, but MLB.com's Brian Murphy revisited the Cleveland trade of Caminero in a new article on Wednesday.

MORE: PCA finds his way to a historic cycle

The deal brought a right-handed pitcher, Tobias Myers, to Cleveland in exchange for the young Caminero.

It's certainly not one that has aged well for Cleveland.

"Caminero's road to Cleveland was blocked by 2021 since the team already had its third baseman of the present and future: José Ramírez," Murphy writes. "So, Cleveland dealt the 18-year-old Caminero for Myers, who had a 3.90 ERA and 146 K's in 117 2/3 Minor League innings that year. It didn't take long, however, for Cleveland to realize that this was a bad trade. Myers was designated for assignment in July 2022, less than eight months after the move."

MORE: 1 year later, new Rafael Devers trade rumors have arrived

Caminero, as most know, has been awesome for Tampa Bay.

"Caminero was crushing the ball at every stop in the Minors," Murphy writes. "He got called up in 2023 and has been one of the most productive third basemen since. His 45 homers last season were one shy of a Rays franchise record, and his .864 OPS this season paces all AL players at the hot corner."

Cleveland likely didn't trade Caminero only because Ramirez existed. If they had known he'd turn into this level of player, they would've proceeded differently.

But looking back, it's a clear loss for the Guardians, one that's just a tiny bit more painful right now.