The Reds have signed first baseman/outfielder Jake Bauers to a minor league contract, per a team announcement. The VC Sports Group client will be in Major League Spring Training as a non-roster invitee. Bauers was eligible to sign a minor league deal even during the lockout due to the fact that he was outrighted off the Mariners’ 40-man roster before the 2021-22 offseason officially began (and is thus technically a minor league free agent).
Still just 26 years of age, Bauers isn’t terribly far removed from ranking as one of the sport’s top 100 prospects, per both Baseball America and MLB.com, in the 2016-17 and 2017-18 offseasons. He’s been a part of two notable three-team trades, going from San Diego to Tampa Bay in the Wil Myers/Steven Souza/Trea Turner/Joe Ross blockbuster (also including the Nats) and also going from Tampa Bay to Cleveland in the Carlos Santana/Edwin Encarnacion/Yandy Diaz deal (which also included the Mariners).
Bauers has logged 1126 plate appearances in the big leagues over the past three seasons but hasn’t produced in Tampa Bay, Cleveland or in Seattle (where he landed following a third minor trade this past summer). He’s a career .213/.307/.348 hitter with 27 home runs, 15 stolen bases and a 26.4% strikeout rate. Bauers has drawn a free pass in 11.5% of his Major League plate appearances, which is well above the league-average, but strikeouts and a general lack of hard contact have suppressed his offensive contributions.
That said, on a minor league pact, there’s little harm in seeing if another change of scenery will bring about better results. Bauers is a career .266/.363/.417 hitter in Triple-A and had near-identical numbers at the Double-A level. He’s drawn average or better defensive marks both as a corner outfielder and a first baseman in the Majors. And, if he were to put it together and tap into that prospect potential, he’d be controllable via arbitration for three years beyond the 2022 season.
The Reds aren’t likely to have much of a need at first base, barring an injury to Joey Votto, but their outfield mix is a bit less certain. Jesse Winker is locked into left field, and Tyler Naquin played his way into at least a platoon role with a solid showing at the plate through 127 games last season. However, the team hasn’t received durability and/or consistent productivity from any of Nick Senzel, Shogo Akiyama or Aristides Aquino. Twenty-six-year-old speedster TJ Friedl might’ve earned himself some consideration with a .290/.361/.419 showing in 36 plate appearances down the stretch last season, too, but Cincinnati’s outfield setup is hardly written in stone. Add in the likely advent of a designated hitter in the National League, and Bauers could at least play his way into a bench role with a productive Spring Training effort.
Easy gamble. Almost any team should be willing to chance it.
If you’re into highly overrated ballplayers, for sure.
I think this guy is pretty properly rated if he is getting a minor league deal.
True that. Still an overrated minor leaguer, too.
We had him last season in Seattle. He made some great plays in the outfield for us. Also played a solid first base and got a couple of clutch hits. He was a solid bench player for sure. On a related note, why does this comment section so often turn into a sort of pin-head-a-palooza. It’s astonishing.
Cuz he’s a stiff….. and stiffs only get minor league spring training invites
The one thing keeping Bauer’s from becoming a solid bench player is his complete and utter lack of power. Otherwise, as a M’s fan, it’s hard to argue with anything else you said. He was delightfully below average.
Yup. Failed prospects cost you virtually nothing. Sometimes you find a Max Muncy, Chris Taylor, or Justin Turner.
See if they were never “overrated” then you’d never find hidden gems.
Hence the “gamble” in my original post.
Low risk. But still a shot at a real player.
You forgot to mention JD Martinez.
No, he’s bad, stop wishing on this guy.
Seems like a guy who should try and rebuild his value in Korea.
I agree
North Korea.
This guy is one of the most overrated ballplayers in MLB. Will net them a .200 avg with maybe 10 homers and 40 ribbies if he gets the AB’s.
Who is over rating this guy? Bench player at best. Will not be a full time guy unless a miracle happens. Good speed tho and came through with clutch hits for Seattle last year. Hits the ball hard but couldn’t turn it into HRs.
Again…. Who is over rating this guy??
He definitely was as a prospect, and during his time with the Rays. Lots of people kept acting like he waw gonna bust out and never did. People thought going to Cleveland was a good change-of-scenery move with him, and amounted to nothing.
He wasn’t overrated, he’s just a failed prospect, you’re confusing those two ideas.
Im well aware of the difference between the two, thanks. Doesn’t mean I’m gonna share the same opinion as you on it, though. I still stand by my thought that he was an overrated PROSPECT. And Ray.
Fair enough.
Since you say you know the difference between overrated and a failed prospect, I assume that means you thought he was overrated when he was a prospect. So what did you see then that all the talent evaluators didn’t?
At least Cosmo was cool with having a difference of opinion. Not engaging with your question, though.
Sorry you feel insulted by my question. I’m genuinely curious as to what your opinion at the time was based on.
Socalball’s question is a good one. Refusing to engage with it pretty much proves his point.
What was so offending about his question? Did he ever say that you were wrong for thinking this way? I didn’t get that it was insulting. I’d honestly be curious why you think this way about Bauers.
Not sure how overrated a 7th round pick can be but he earned his prospect rankings by being incredibly consistent with average to above average results across the board in the minors. Appears that power was always suspect, which can be quite a handicap in today’s game if you are a 1b/corner of. This may be a factor in not getting any decent results at the MLB level.
Very Paul O’Neill-like, average to above across the board and late bloomer. I don’t think O’Neill gets the chance to succeed in today’s game like he did in the late ’80’s early ’90’s.
All three outcomes players are overrated imo
hahahaha
“Why do you feel a certain way. Explain, please, why you felt that way”
“I’m not engaging you!”
Part of the issue too is that he was highly rated in large part because he was so young relative to league and was thought to have a lot of untapped power potential. At 20 YO in AA there’s a lot to dream on; less so as a 26 year old who still never found that power stroke.
You didn’t call him an overrated prospect tho you said an overrated ball player idk why you’re mad at people pointing out your stupidity
No one is. He got waived and just signed a PTO. Not sure what that guy you responded to is going on about.
Indian fans who had to watch his act for three God awful years.
I want to know why this guy never translated his contact numbers in the minors to the majors. He’s like a 15% K rate throughout his entire minor league career, where he’s young for every level he’s playing at. Then he hits AAA and it goes up a bit, then in the majors it’s like 25-30%.
If you’re a prospect evaluator you had to have loved him up to that point. Great contact, developing power, good-looking swing with bat speed, decent athlete for a corner player. But just as soon as he faces MLB pitching, he turns to a pumpkin.
Savant notes that he really struggles against breaking pitches (.291 wOBA vs fastballs, a really bad .182 against breaking pitches). Is it literally just “dude can’t hit a curveball”?
major league pitching is no joke. they throw harder so maybe he’s cheating on the fb and can’t adjust to the breaking pitch. or maybe big league breaking pitches are just nasty and he can’t hit em. big league pitching is no joke
Hehehehe…..
A backup LH hitter is never terrible to have. If the DH comes to the NL he can play some 1B when Votto DH’s and can play some LF/RF.
Unlikely unless he greatly improves. As he is right now he’s not a major league player. He’s a plan C in case of multiple injuries.
yeah it’s a low risk – high reward kind of move. at worst, he’s a guy with MLB experience that can fill in as an emergency starter or bench piece if you are hit hard with a number of injuries. at best, he translates his minor league contact rates to the MLB and proves to be a valuable bench piece and occasional starter. as for now, it’s not like he’s taking up a spot on the 40-man. I’d also rather take a flier on a 26 year old that had previously shown promise than a 30-something year old AAAA player
Junk Bauers
Would love 2 see you try to even get on base in A ball.
Looks like he’ll just be a decent backup for a bad team going forward, but there are some tools to like. One thing that you wouldn’t expect from a corner OF and 1b guy is he is really fast. I think they said he had the 3rd highest sprint speed in the league or something like that on a Mariners broadcast last year. I don’t think he is quick though, just fast once he gets going.
Cleveland’s return for Yandy Diaz.
God knows CLE gave Bauers every opportunity to succeed, but he got worse instead of better every year. Hope he figures it out with CIN, but thanks, CLE, for taking a hard pass this go ‘round
In the ‘40s we will finally get the Reds/Royals World Series that nearly happened in 1976.
I saw him a lot on his high school team. He looked like a can’t miss kinda guy. Shows how incredibly competitive MLB is.
How many can’t miss guys have you watched in high school? I’m curious as to what your frame of reference was.
About 18 years umpiring. I probably threw out the “can’t miss” label 5 times. Only a couple players had a MLB career that had significance or longevity.
Rays always seem to cash out near the top.
Jake Bauers, Nick Quintana, Nick Senzel, Mike Moustakas. Reds are looking good heading into 2018.
Nick Quintana was playing college ball in 2018. I think you meant someone else.
Jake has surely bounced around quite of bit but he must have some talent because he always finds a new team. Now whether he translate his skills to be successful in MLB that is another question. I just don’t see a guy being overrated or a bad prospect. He just might not be able to succeed at the next level.
Saw Bauers play a few times in AAA Durham when he was a “highly-regarded” prospect. I never saw anything special out of him. Cleveland should have known when the Rays were willing to give him up in a trade that Tampa wasn’t all that impressed either.
It’s not like Yandy Diaz was a huge haul. He’s been a useful piece who gets on base, and he’s been a lot better than Bauers, but he’s also one of the weaker links on the Rays roster.
He was terrific in ‘24’
That was his brother Jack.
The guy makes Javy Baez look like a c9ntact hitter.
Jake Bauers has a name that sounds like a slugger. I’m talking 37 HR 109 RBI. However, he has never done it