Junior Caminero has another tough day in Rays' messy loss to Brewers

Marc Topkin, Tampa Bay Times on Apr 1, 2026

Published in Baseball

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MILWAUKEE — Junior Caminero, the Rays’ best player, already was having a bad Wednesday.

He’d made two throwing errors from third base in the third inning — his second multi-error game in the season’s first week — and gone 0 for 4 at the plate, striking out twice and grounding into a double play to end the eighth in what at that point was still a tie score.

Manager Kevin Cash, in what he admitted was “a big ask,” then moved Caminero to first base, a position he had played just once in each of the previous two seasons and not at all this spring.

The move was made because they had just used Carson Williams to pinch run for usual first baseman Jonathan Aranda, and this alignment allowed them to put Williams at shortstop and slide Ben Williamson, who had been at short, to third.

But that all backfired as Caminero dropped a throw to first on what was a sacrifice bunt — giving him a franchise single-game, record-tying third error of the day — and the Rays made a bigger mess as the inning went on.

By the end, they had allowed six runs and ended up with a frustrating 8-2 loss, wasting a solid start by Drew Rasmussen and a two-run, go-ahead homer by Yandy Diaz. And they dropped their first two series for the first time since 2018.

“It just kind of snowballed on us a little bit,” Cash said.

After Caminero’s breakout 2025 season, which included an All-Star Game start, 45 home runs and a top-10 finish in the American League MVP voting, the 22-year-old is going to be in the spotlight, and his rough start to the season is hard to miss.

He already has made a majors-most five errors, putting a serious dent in his spring goal of winning a Gold Glove, and he hasn’t done much good at the plate either, hitting .238 (5 for 21) with no homers or RBIs.

Caminero, who has been doing most interviews in English, spoke on Wednesday in Spanish. He insisted, via team interpreter Kevin Vera, that he wasn’t frustrated by his play.

“It’s part of the game,” he said. “It’s simply just part of it. There’s still 150-plus games left, and it’s just part of the game.”

The eighth-inning shift to first base did seem to at the least surprise him. He said he had not done any work there this spring, then added, “Wherever the manager needs me, that’s where I’ll be.”

Caminero had headed onto the field with the pink glove he uses to play third, then when he got word of the change asked a teammate to bring him a first baseman’s mitt, and looked to pick from a couple.

Asked about the glove switch, Caminero said, flatly:

“I play third base. I don’t play first.”

Caminero was not the only player having to talk about a tough day.

Reliever Griffin Jax, who had a hand in the first two losses in St. Louis, gave up the decisive runs again Wednesday, though the defense was obviously a factor. The Rays have made an error in each of their first six games — a franchise first — and a majors-most nine total.

The Brewers’ rally started with Joey Ortiz hitting a hard grounder to short that Williams whiffed on, first scored an error, then ruled a hit.

Brice Turang dropped a sac bunt, but ended up safe when Caminero dropped the throw.

That set the Brewers up, and they took full advantage.

A soft liner to right by William Contreras loaded the bases, and a ground-ball single through the right side by Christian Yelich gave them a 4-2 lead.

Jax was lifted after a walk re-loaded the bases. Mason Englert took over and made things worse, allowing two more hits as the Brewers built the lead to 8-2.

Caminero’s first throwing error also was costly, as it came two batters before Turang hit a two-run tying homer in the third. He said both errors on balls he charged in for were the product of a change in his arm angle and maybe rushing a bit, and he will continue to work on that play.

“I want to make perfect throws. I want to get the out. Just right now, it’s not working,” he said. “But I’m fully confident moving forward in what I can do and I know things will be polished up here soon.”

Cash said he is certain Caminero, who earned raves for his defensive improvement last season, will get back on his game.

“Junior is going to continue to work,” Cash said. “He’s going to be fine. (Wednesday) it just kind of — it glared a little bit, just because it impacted some run-scoring."

Rasmussen also is confident in Caminero.

“It’s not lack of effort, it’s not lack of desire to get better. It is a frustrating day, but I hope he doesn’t lose confidence. I hope he doesn’t stop doing the work that he’s putting in,” he said. “Everyone in here sees it day in and day out. He’s making huge strides. And although a day like (Wednesday) is frustrating, I think it’s a minor step back to continue making huge progress.”