The Rockies are set to acquire first baseman/outfielder Jake Cave from the Phillies, according to Matt Gelb of The Athletic. Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post reports that the Rockies will be sending cash to Philadelphia in exchange for Cave’s services. Both clubs have since announced the move, and the Rockies have placed right-hander German Marquez, who is rehabbing from Tommy John surgery and isn’t expected back until midseason at the earliest.
Cave, 31, was a sixth-round pick by the Yankees in the 2011 draft and made his big league debut with the Twins back in 2018. He spent five seasons in Minnesota as a reserve outfielder, slashing a collective .235/.297/.441 (92 wRC+) during that time while splitting time between all three outfield spots. Cave’s tenure with the Twins came to an end in October 2022, when he was claimed off waivers from the club by the Orioles. While he went on to sign a contract with Baltimore to avoid arbitration, he did not enter the season with the club as he was once again claimed off waivers that December, this time by the Phillies.
Cave entered the Phillies organization shortly after star right fielder Bryce Harper underwent Tommy John surgery, leaving the the club with a somewhat uncertain outfield mix. That made Cave a valuable depth option as a left-handed bat capable of playing all three outfield spots, though he faced stiff competition from the likes of Kody Clemens and Darick Hall for a spot on the club’s bench entering the 2023 season. Things changed for Cave, however, when first baseman Rhys Hoskins suffered a torn ACL that would cause him to miss the entire campaign. With a sudden hole at first base, the Phillies decided to roster Cave as an option both in the outfield corners as well as at first base, a position he had not yet played at the major league level.
The experiment did not go particularly well. While Cave performed solidly at first base with the glove, he fell well below expectations with the bat as he slashed just .212/.272/.348 (66 wRC+) in 203 trips to the plate with the club despite posting a career-best 27.1% strikeout rate. That performance wasn’t enough to deter the Phillies from offering Cave a contract this winter, as the sides successfully avoided arbitration back in November. Since then, however, it has become increasingly clear that there wasn’t a roster spot available to Cave in Philadelphia as the club instead committed bench spots to the likes of Whit Merrifield. Given the fact that Cave is out of options, the Phillies would have needed to pass him through waivers to keep him in the organization.
That provided the Rockies with the opportunity to acquire Cave for nothing but cash. The 31-year-old veteran figures to slot into a bench role with Colorado entering the season, offering a left-handed complement to the club’s righty outfielders Brenton Doyle and Sean Bouchard while also providing an alternative to Kris Bryant and Elehuris Montero at first base. While Cave’s 2023 numbers certainly leave something to be desired, the Rockies will count on the veteran bouncing back to the form he showed during his time in Minnesota. If he can do so, his career .240/.309/.421 slash line against right-handed pitching should allow him to contribute in a bench role. Should Cave struggle to open the season, other options at the Rockies’ disposal include Greg Jones, Sam Hilliard, and Bradley Zimmer.
He is going to hit a lot of HRs for Colorado Springs AAA team
Rockies AAA team hasn’t been in Colorado Springs in years. They’re in Albuquerque now…
Well I’ll be quirky, have you been living in a cave? Jake cave just came to town things are going to improve in the Rockies
Albuquerque is a mile-high city as well so the homers do fly here too.
Yeah the reason they switched to Albuquerque is because Colorado Springs is much higher in elevation compared to Denver. Albuquerque is about the same as Denver, so it can give a better idea of how a pitcher’s arsenal will work at Coors.
Phightin Phils signing incoming?
They do have Dahl hanging around, but sports Philly says they are looking around for a LH hitting OF bat?
When they signed Dahl, my thought was this – at least Dahl has hit at the major league level, even if he might never make it back to that level after all of the injuries. But they make the decision to improve at the margins by unloading Cave’s roster spot. Perhaps Dahl…maybe a new pickup. They give themselves time to figure out Pache as well.
You mean they want to play with Dahls?
Dom Smith to be the backup 1B? He opted out of his Cubs gig on Friday.
CYA!
Deal is for a months supply of In and Out Burgers……
Best of luck Jake, never want to deny an MLB type a job, but just as happy that it won’t be in Philly.
this most likely that Johan Rojas will indeed make the opening day roster.
Reaction to Nolan Jones’s injury yesterday.
Nah, Jones is day to day with a bruise.
Thank God. Might not mean Pache makes team but I hope so.Phillies need all the outfield defenders they can. Hope they don’t keep Clemens instead
Jake Cave had the catch of the year at CBP in 2023 against the Orioles. He’s out of options, will earn 1.0 mil this season and probably wouldn’t have played much. If anything, the Phillies need a RH 1B/LF. Can’t think of a better team for Jake Cave to go to than the Rockies, he’ll be in the lineup regularly if there’s RHP on the mound. He’ll like that Coors thin air and might even pop 20 homers.
Caveman goes back to his home in the mountain
Well the name does fit the team I’ll say that.
If Jake Cave could play the White Sox every single game, he’d be a HoFer
So would a lot of players….
I keep forgetting the Rockies are actually a team. Have they signed anyone else this offseason?
Things still happen on Earth without your being involved at all. Sorry if that is buzzkill for you.
Sorry, my bad for forgetting about a do-nothing franchise that consistently puts out a sub-par product year after year after year. I guess trash attracts trash though, which would explain your affinity for the Rockies.
Absolutely no reason to get personal. Have a nice life.
“ Rockies have placed right-hander German Marquez, who is rehabbing from Tommy John surgery and isn’t expected back until midseason at the earliest.”
Place Marquez on what?
Proofread.
They just now placed him in their memories. He’s been forgotten, just like the entire Rockies franchise.
I’ve noticed this writer is particularly egregious with their article errors. I don’t mind a mistake here or there, but it’s every article he writes. Yesterday he used the wrong form of they’re…as a writer…
I am not trying to nitpick, but you are a professional writer. I am not. I should not be seeing your errors for you. Particularly , when you are right, Kev, it is every article.
What about Jake Grotto?
Hopefully the Rockies give Cave the day off to attend his statue unveiling at Camden Yards.
He dominated at Lehigh Valley.
What a bizarre thing to do. Cave has no chance to make the major league team, and there really isn’t room in AAA for a 1B/OF either. Rox are swimming in guys like that with higher ceilings.
Out of curiosity when they say cash considerations how much cash does that actually mean?
Why do you care? It’s someone else’s money.
It’s just a question man. Give the guy a break. Everyone seems to care how much money every contract is worth. How is that any different? Why do you care? It’s someone else’s money.
@hiflew I don’t know the answer but I would be curious to know. I would guess it’s a negotiation.
Meant to @cscd1111
Why would you assume I was giving him a hard time? I was just posing a question.
He just asked the question, and “out of curiosity”. Why bother to even take the time to be so snarky about it?
@ cscd – Cash considerations usually means something quite nominal, and simply means that another player is not involved. However, while MLB has the right to review the transactions and disapprove it if the cash is too high, teams no longer really look to sell off players for cash in a major fashion. (a la the Red Sox when they sold Babe Ruth, et al and many more deals back in the earlier days of a less structured, Wild West league.
I am pretty sure that Cave had a guaranteed $1M major league deal, so the guess is that the Rockies assumed a certain % of that, and not a simple $25K and a box of Krispy Kremes”. – otherwise the Phils would have simply tried to pass him through waivers and used him as roster depth..
It wasn’t snark. It was a legitimate question regarding why someone would care. If someone else’s financial transactions are part of your hobby, then so be it. Just curious. But I’ll just keep my curiosity to myself so as not to bother the group with such inanities.
That question is asked in the same way so often that it is almost always snarky.
If one is on here routinely, and follows the game of baseball then one knows that money is a critical component of team-building and it is a legitimate part of all of these discussions…even though taken to extremes at times. Pretending otherwise can hardly be taken as authentic curiosity.
Ok then. I guess we have nothing else to say to one another.
All I can say is he won’t be missed in Philly.
I said on here a few days ago that I couldn’t understand why Philly still had him on their roster. I guess they concurred.