Junior Caminero reached first base limping in the 12th inning of Game 4 of the 2026 World Series, and manager Kevin Cash pulled him from the game. Tampa Bay won 4-3 on a Ben Williamson walk-off single, forcing a Game 5 — but the question hanging over the Rays‘ clubhouse is bigger than the victory itself: can their 23-year-old star actually play Wednesday?
Caminero’s apparent leg injury is the biggest question mark Tampa Bay carries into the decisive game. The Dominican third baseman hit 42 home runs with an .884 OPS during the regular season.
How It Happened
With the Rays trailing 3-2 in the bottom of the 12th and staring down a sweep, Caminero hit a grounder to the left side of the infield. Milwaukee third baseman Joey Ortiz threw low, the ball got past first baseman Jake Bauers — error Ortiz — and Caminero reached first. He was already limping as he hit the bag.
FOX Sports documented it in real time during the broadcast: «Junior Caminero is leaving the game after being slow to get up from his slide into 3rd base.» Yahoo Sports’ Jack Baer confirmed in the game’s live blog: «Caminero, who appeared to get injured on the previous play, is coming out and being replaced by pinch runner Cedric Mullins.»
Caminero had actually advanced to third on a Liam Hicks single — still in the game despite the limp — before Cash made the call. Mullins came in as the pinch runner, scored the tying run on a Jonny DeLuca single, and then Williamson delivered the winner. Final: Rays 4, Brewers 3 in 12 innings.
What We Know — and What We Don’t
There is no official diagnosis yet. What is confirmed: this is a leg injury, and it’s a separate incident from the shoulder collision Caminero suffered in Game 1 of the ALCS against Cleveland — one he recovered from without major issue.
Cash said on the FOX postgame broadcast that Caminero would play «on one leg» if that’s what it took for Game 5. But «on one leg» is not the same as healthy, and in an elimination game that distinction matters enormously when you’re talking about the guy who posted 42 home runs, 101 RBI, and a 92.7 mph average exit velocity — 95th percentile across all of MLB per Statcast.
Worth noting: Caminero had managed just 2 hits in 10 at-bats in this World Series heading into Game 4. The Rays won in spite of their star, not because of him — which makes his availability for Game 5 an even more layered storyline.
Tampa Bay came into Game 4 down 0-3 in the series, with Milwaukee chasing their first championship in franchise history. The Rays’ win snapped a 9-game postseason winning streak for the Brewers and pushed the series to a Game 5 on Wednesday, October 28.
The Numbers Behind Caminero
Caminero doesn’t show up at the top of every leaderboard by accident. Here’s what Statcast recorded for his 2026 regular season across 702 plate appearances:
- 42 home runs, 101 RBI
- AVG: .276 | OPS: .884
- xwOBA: .364 — what the quality of his contact says he should be producing
- Average exit velocity: 92.7 mph
- Barrel rate: 13.1%
- Hard-hit rate: 49.7% (balls hit 95+ mph)
- Average bat speed: 79.3 mph
How that stacks up league-wide:
- xwOBA: 91st percentile
- Bat speed: 100th percentile
- Exit velocity: 95th percentile
- Barrel %: 89th percentile
- Hard-hit %: 91st percentile
Those are the numbers of a player who changes a game just by standing in the box. Game 5 will tell us whether Tampa Bay has him — or just a version of him.
