Gustavo Campero
OF · S/R · age 29 · LAAOCTOBER OK
10-DAY IL (Strained hamstring)
0+158
1+053 / 1+066
2 (using one in 2026)
4 of 5
PRE-ARBITRATION / AUTO-RENEWAL
Rule 5-AAA (NYY) Dec'20
0 / 0
none listed
Next 90 days, by the model
58%
30%
9%
3%
1%
Pushing the cut risk up: age (28.98) raises it, this season's WAR (0.04) raises it, last season's WAR (0.03) raises it.
Context the model does not weigh: ZiPS projects 0.7 WAR, 0.0 WAR this season; 8 OF on the 40-man, of whom Adam Frazier is headed to free agency.
Trained on every 40-man roster snapshot since 2011 and what happened in the following 90 days; it sees roster status, options, service, history and last season's line, not this season's performance or the club's intentions. How well it does.
Is there a job for him next year?
LAA returns 4 OF on the 40-man once nobody leaves; about 7 OF jobs survive a normal winter. By his own recent record he ranks 4th among the returners (0.1 WAR against a bar of 0.1), which the calibrated model turns into 77% kept through the tender deadline. Ranked by ZiPS and Steamer instead, which credit his longer track record, he is 4th (0.4 WAR, bar 0.4), worth 78% kept on the same model.
| By recent record: returning OF | Proj. WAR |
|---|---|
| 1. Mike Trout | 2.6 |
| 2. Wade Meckler | 2.5 |
| 3. Jose Siri | 0.9 |
| 4. Gustavo Campero | 0.1 |
| By ZiPS / Steamer: returning OF | Proj. WAR |
|---|---|
| 1. Mike Trout | 1.5 |
| 2. Jose Siri | 0.7 |
| 3. Wade Meckler | 0.4 |
| 4. Gustavo Campero | 0.4 |
Departing free agents are excluded; players on club, mutual or player options are counted as returning. The kept probability is calibrated on every September since 2012 using the recent-record projection; the ZiPS/Steamer reading uses the same model with a different ranking, so treat it as a second opinion rather than a calibrated number. Salary enters once arbitration projections publish in October.
October: Post-season eligible
On the 40-man before noon ET Sep 1. He stays eligible as long as he remains on the 40-man or 60-day IL through the post-season; an outright after the cutoff would end automatic eligibility.
The post-season eligibility list is fixed at noon ET on September 1: everyone on the 40-man, the 60-day IL or the military list at that moment, who then stays there without interruption. Attachment 25 (Major League Rule 40)
What happens if the club…
- option him to the minorsBLOCKED
- Not while he is on the injured list. He must be healthy and reinstated first; a rehab assignment (20 days, 30 for pitchers, with his consent) is the only way to send him down injured.
- Injured players cannot be sent down
- designate him for assignment (or put him on outright waivers)
- The club has 7 days to trade him, pass him through outright waivers, or release him; he is paid at the major-league rate and keeps accruing service in the meantime. On outright waivers any club can claim him for $50,000, worst record first, and the claiming club takes his contract. If he clears, the club can outright him to the minors and he has no say; he stays under club control on a minor-league deal. He would then be Rule 5-eligible and would hold XX-D rights against any future outright. Post-season: an outright after the September 1 cutoff ends his automatic eligibility. He could only return as an approved injury replacement, and only if he accepts the outright and stays on a minor-league reserve list in the organization without interruption; a release makes him ineligible for anyone this October. Because he is on the injured list he cannot be outrighted until he is healthy and reinstated, so a DFA now would have to end in a trade or a release.
- Designated for assignment: 7 days · Outright waivers · Article XX-D: the right to walk
- release him
- Release waivers cost a claiming club $1 but the claimant assumes the whole contract, so expensive players clear. The club owes the full unpaid balance of this season's salary, offset by whatever another club pays him this year. A released player is not post-season eligible for any club this year.
- Release waivers and termination pay · Which rate a split contract pays at release
- trade himBLOCKED
- Not now: players on major-league contracts cannot be traded after the Aug 3 deadline until the day after the World Series.
- Trade deadline · 10-and-5 rights · June 15 no-trade for free-agent signees
- renew him for next year
- Pre-arbitration: the club sets his 2027 salary near the minimum ($780,000 floor) and he has no leverage beyond a non-tender.
- Minimum salaries · Tender deadline
What the rules say about him
- Option years and the 20-day rule2 option years left entering 2026; 34 option days this season uses one (1 after 2026).A season with fewer than 20 days on optional assignment does not count as an option year, and those days count as Major League service. 2022-2026 Basic Agreement, Article XIX(E) and XXI(B), p. 98 (the number itself is in Major League Rule 7(c))
- Five optional assignments per seasonOptioned 1 time this season that count toward the cap of 5: 4 left.A player can be optioned at most five times in a season; a sixth trip requires outright waivers. 2022-2026 Basic Agreement, Article XIX(E), p. 98 (the number itself is in Major League Rule 7(c))
- Injured players cannot be sent downOn the Major League injured list: cannot be optioned or outrighted until he is healthy and reinstated, so an injured fringe player keeps his roster spot by default.No assignment to a minor-league club while a player is on a Major League injured list, and an injured player who cannot play cannot be optioned or outrighted. 2022-2026 Basic Agreement, Article XIX(C)(1)-(2), p. 96
- Post-season roster eligibilityOn the 40-man before noon ET Sep 1. He stays eligible as long as he remains on the 40-man or 60-day IL through the post-season; an outright after the cutoff would end automatic eligibility.The post-season eligibility list is fixed at noon ET on September 1: everyone on the 40-man, the 60-day IL or the military list at that moment, who then stays there without interruption. 2022-2026 Basic Agreement, Attachment 25, p. 253 (the number itself is in Major League Rule 40)
- Rule 5 clockOn a 40-man roster (would first be exposed after 2020 otherwise).
Option years, season by season
| Season | Days on option | Option year used | Stints |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 34 | yes | Jul 19, 2026 to Aug 22, 2026 (34d) |
| 2025 | 54 | yes | Mar 8, 2025 to Apr 29, 2025 (42d, spring training)Jun 13, 2025 to Jun 20, 2025 (7d)Jul 21, 2025 to Jul 26, 2025 (5d) |
Transaction log
| Aug 26, 2026 | Status change | Los Angeles Angels placed OF Gustavo Campero on the 10-day injured list. Right hamstring strain. |
| Aug 22, 2026 | Recalled | Los Angeles Angels recalled C Gustavo Campero from Salt Lake Bees. |
| Jul 19, 2026 | Optioned | Los Angeles Angels optioned C Gustavo Campero to Salt Lake Bees. |
| Jun 6, 2026 | Status change | Los Angeles Angels placed C Gustavo Campero on the 10-day injured list. Right hand fracture. |
| Jun 6, 2026 | Contract selected | Los Angeles Angels selected the contract of C Gustavo Campero from Rocket City Trash Pandas. |
| Nov 26, 2025 | Signed as free agent | Los Angeles Angels signed free agent OF Gustavo Campero to a minor league contract. |
| Nov 21, 2025 | Declared free agent | RF Gustavo Campero elected free agency. |
| Nov 5, 2025 | Status change | Los Angeles Angels activated RF Gustavo Campero. |
| Sep 1, 2025 | Status change | Los Angeles Angels transferred RF Gustavo Campero from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day injured list. Left ankle sprain. |
| Aug 12, 2025 | Status change | Los Angeles Angels placed RF Gustavo Campero on the 10-day injured list. Left ankle sprain. |
| Jul 26, 2025 | Recalled | Los Angeles Angels recalled RF Gustavo Campero from Salt Lake Bees. |
| Jul 21, 2025 | Optioned | Los Angeles Angels optioned RF Gustavo Campero to Salt Lake Bees. |
| Jun 20, 2025 | Recalled | Los Angeles Angels recalled RF Gustavo Campero from Salt Lake Bees. |
| Jun 13, 2025 | Optioned | Los Angeles Angels optioned RF Gustavo Campero to Salt Lake Bees. |
| Jun 13, 2025 | Status change | Los Angeles Angels activated RF Gustavo Campero from the 10-day injured list. |
| May 9, 2025 | Status change | Los Angeles Angels placed RF Gustavo Campero on the 10-day injured list retroactive to May 7, 2025. Left ankle inflammation. |
| Apr 29, 2025 | Recalled | Los Angeles Angels recalled RF Gustavo Campero from Salt Lake Bees. |
| Mar 8, 2025 | Optioned | Los Angeles Angels optioned RF Gustavo Campero to Salt Lake Bees. |
| Sep 15, 2024 | Contract selected | Los Angeles Angels selected the contract of OF Gustavo Campero from Salt Lake Bees. |
| Jul 12, 2016 | Signed as free agent | New York Yankees signed free agent C Gustavo Campero to a minor league contract. |
Service through 2025 per FanGraphs RosterResource; options and this-season service reconstructed from the MLB transaction log (reconstruction; FanGraphs shows 2). Rule 5 exposure deadline Nov 17, 2026.