Former MLB GM makes disrespectful case for Junior Caminero MVP win over Yordan Álvarez

Yordan Alvarez is in the midst of a career season. While dragging the oft-injured carcass of the Houston Astros to first place in the AL West, Alvarez is posting career-best full season (min. 400 AB) numbers in HR, runs scored, walks, AVG, OBP, SLG, OPS, OPS+, total bases, and intentional walks.

Alvarez currently leads the AL in 10 offensive categories, and he is second in HR and RBI. His 32 intentional walks lap the field as he has twice as many as the next highest player (Shohei Ohtani - 16) and the closest player in the AL is Rays' 3B Junior Caminero with 13.

Caminero is also having a tremendous season. He is the best hitter on the AL-leading Rays, and at just 22 years old, is already posting his second consecutive 40+ HR season. His improved walk rate had led to an improved OBP and OPS, though he does lead the league for the second straight season in grounding into double plays (GIDP).

Caminero's offensive prowess, combined with the fact he plays 3B every day and is on the best team in the American League has apparently convinced former MLB GM Jim Bowden that Caminero, and not Alvarez, should be the AL MVP:

Here is where all the flaws are in Jim Bowden's argument that Astros' DH Yordan Alvarez should not be MVP:

1) Bowden says their numbers are very similar. They aren't.

It's hard to take this argument seriously when their slash lines are notably different. Bowden's argument they have played about the same number of games actually hurts his concept that the numbers are very similar in this regard, as they have both tallied over 640 plate appearances, so no one is benefitting from smaller sample size.

Yordan is batting .310 and leads the AL. Caminero is batting .279. Those are not close.

Yordan's OBP is a league-leading .429. Caminero's is .363. Those are not close.

Yordan leads the league in OPS at 1.024. Caminero's is .898. Not close at all.

I want everyone to understand I am not trying to diminish Caminero's season, because he is having a terrific season. He just isn't having Yordan's season.

Yes, many of the prime "counting stats" are similar. HRs ars 41-39 Caminero. RBI are 98-96 Yordan. Runs scored are 96-92 Yordan.

Some of the "counting stats" are not as similar. Doubles are 30-22 Yordan. Walks are 103-74 Yordan. Intentional Walks are 32-13 Yordan.

What these numbers bear out is that Yordan is having a greater impact on the offense than Caminero and that opposing teams consider Yordan Alvarez the greatest offensive threat in the game. Again that isn't a slight on Caminero, it's the incredibly high bar that has been set by Alvarez.

2) Bowden gives Caminero greater credit because he plays the field. His performance defensively should not be considered a positive.

Bowden says that Caminero plays half the games "winning on the defensive side". Umm, about that.

Caminero grades out as the worst defensive 3B in baseball. According to baseball savant, Caminero is worth a league-worst -12 outs above average (OAA) and a league-worst -9 defensive runs saved (DRS).

Last season, Caminero finished the year -3 OAA and -2 DRS. So his defensive performances have actually gotten WORSE. Caminero is actually a liability defensively, and an extreme on at that. How can you credit a player for hurting his team? Considering the drop off from last season to this season, it can be fair to question if the 22-year old is putting in the effort defensively that he should be. Shouldn't that be more negative than positive?

3) Bowden credits Caminero for the Rays having the best record in the AL, apparently forgetting about the Rays entire pitching staff.

It's easy to say that "without Caminero, the Yankees would win the division", especially since the Yankees have played so much of the season without 3x MVP Aaron Judge and slugger Giancarlo Stanton and former Cy Young winner and staff ace Gerrit Cole didn't make his season debut until May 22.

But let's be very clear about something, even without Caminero, the Rays are a playoff team. Maybe instead of 91 wins they have 86 wins. That would still be the second best record in the AL. Bowden makes it seem like the Rays would be utterly lost without Caminero. Tampa still has an excellent pitching staff. Drew Rasmussen (14-5, 2.81 ERA) Nick Martinez (14-4, 2.92 ERA) and Shane McClanahan (10-7, 3.36 ERA) are among the top 1-2-3 starters on any team in the majors. Closer Bryan Baker has 40 saves and a 1.52 ERA

The Rays have 2 starters with 14 WINS. The Astros only have 5 starters with 15 STARTS. Only Hunter Brown (18) and Peter Lambert (26) have as many STARTS as Nick Martinez has DECISIONS.

Tampa Bay is 7th in Team ERA at 3.76. The Astros are 24th at 4.53. You want to know why Tampa has the best record in the AL and the Astros are fighting like hell to be over .500? Here are the top 5 reasons:

Pitching, pitching, pitching, pitching and pitching.

Does Caminero deserve extra credit because he plays on a team that has a terrific pitching staff? Seems to me that trying to score enough runs to get your team victories when they are not a good pitching team is a little harder. By a little, I mean a whole freaking lot.

Bowden throws the caveat of "if (Alvarez) wins the Triple Crown" then he would understand Alvarez winning. So Bowden's concept of impact comes down to a counting number in this regard: If Alvarez comes in first in AVG and RBI, but is second in HR by 1 HR, then his season wasn't good enough to win MVP. Perhaps Yordan catches Caminero in HR but Caminero's teammate Chandler Simpson catches Alvarez in AVG, does that disqualify Yordan? That a former GM would utter such a moronic caveat to a season-long performance as whether it's good enough to justify MVP is mind-boggling.

All of his Caminero points he would throw away if Yordan just finishes the season with one more HR than Caminero? That is the argument? That is beyond stupid.

The reason it's stupid is because the entire premise that Yordan Alvarez is somehow not the MVP when he has been without a doubt the most impactful bat in baseball is stupid. The idea that a DH doesn't deserve to win MVP is already proven to be false. Shohei Ohtani won MVP in 2024 as a DH and without winning the triple crown. He did this playing on a stacked team with 5 All-Stars and 3 Silver Sluggers in the lineup Ohtani played ZERO INNINGS of field in 2024.

I'm all for legitimate discussion. I am certainly willing to consider alternate ideas. Clearly, if Bowden as a former GM feels this way, there will be others who do as well. However all those ideas have to be put to a proper test, and Bowden's just don't stand up.

Yordan Alvarez is the AL MVP. Junior Caminero will have to settle for 2nd. Sorry, Junior.

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