Rays duo Caminero, Simpson named Silver Slugger finalists

Two members of the 2026 pennant-winning Tampa Bay Rays have been named finalists for the Silver Slugger Award.

One of them is an obvious choice.

The other would make history in a way that has nothing to do with power.

Junior Caminero is a finalist at third base in the American League.

He is one of two candidates at the position.

The other is Miguel Vargas of the Chicago White Sox.

Caminero is also an MVP finalist this season.

He is 22 years old.

He just completed his second consecutive season with 40 or more home runs.

He scored 100 runs.

He drove in 101 runs.

His wRC+ was 148.

He led all of Major League Baseball in bat speed in 2026 at 79.4 miles per hour.

Vargas hit 33 home runs with a 134 wRC+.

Those numbers are strong enough to be a finalist in most years.

But against Caminero's production, Vargas is a heavy underdog.

The expectation around the league is that Caminero wins this award easily.

The other Rays finalist is Chandler Simpson.

Simpson is an outfielder.

He hit zero home runs this season.

He has zero home runs in his entire major league career.

If he wins the Silver Slugger, he will become only the third player in history to take the award with no home runs.

The other two are Ozzie Smith in 1987 and Pete Rose in 1981.

Simpson led the American League in batting average this season at .306.

He also led all AL outfielders in stolen bases with 46.

The second-highest stolen base total among outfield finalists was Randy Arozarena with 26.

Simpson is a finalist in a crowded outfield group.

The other finalists are Wilyer Abreu of the Boston Red Sox, Randy Arozarena of the Seattle Mariners, Cody Bellinger of the New York Yankees, Jac Caglianone of the Kansas City Royals, Chase DeLauter of the Cleveland Guardians, Riley Greene of the Detroit Tigers, Tristan Peters of the Chicago White Sox, Chandler Simpson of the Tampa Bay Rays, and Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels.

Abreu, Arozarena, Caglianone, DeLauter, Peters and Simpson would all be first-time winners.

Trout is bidding to become the third player ever to win 10 Silver Slugger awards.

Barry Bonds leads all players with 12.

Mike Piazza is second with 10.

Trout has nine.

By wRC+, the league leaders among qualified hitters this season are Arozarena at 151, Greene at 136, Dom Canzone at 134, DeLauter at 131, and Caglianone at 129.

Canzone was not nominated.

Trout is sixth among the group at 129.

Simpson is 20th among qualified hitters with a wRC+ of 93.

That gap in wRC+ has drawn attention.

Some observers have noted the apparent contradiction of a player with below-average run creation being a finalist for a hitting award.

But Simpson leads all qualified hitters in batting average.

Caglianone is second at .289.

Simpson also leads all outfield finalists in stolen bases by a wide margin.

The Silver Slugger Award is voted on by MLB coaches and managers.

They are not required to follow any single statistical formula.

Voters can weigh batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, home runs, RBI, or any other factor they choose.

This has led to unusual winners before.

Ozzie Smith won in 1987 with three home runs and a .303 average.

Pete Rose won in 1981 with zero home runs and a .325 average for the Philadelphia Phillies.

Rose's season was shortened by the 1981 players' strike.

He played only 107 games that year.

Smith's 1987 season was a full 158 games.

Simpson played 150 games in 2026.

The Silver Slugger has been awarded since 1980.

It is given to the best offensive player at each position in each league.

Outfielders are grouped together regardless of specific position.

Three outfielders win the award in each league.

There is no Gold Glove component to the Silver Slugger.

Defense is not considered.

The award is solely about hitting.

That makes Simpson's nomination unusual.

A player with zero home runs and a below-average wRC+ is rarely a finalist.