Jake Cave has cleared waivers after being designated for assignment by the Reds over the weekend. Every team passed on adding him to their 25-man roster, meaning that Cincinnati had to offer him back to the New York Yankees for $25,000 – which they paid to reacquire the outfielder.
The Reds selected Jake Cave with the 2nd overall pick in the Rule 5 draft back in December, paying $50,000 to acquire him after the Yankees left him unprotected from the 40-man roster. After a quick start to the spring, showing solid tools, Cave slowed down as spring training continued along. In his final 28 at-bats before the team decided to send him back, the now former Reds outfielder had just four hits, all singles (.142). He went 2-2 in the game against the Pirates in Indianapolis after the team had already made the move to put him on waivers – but since it was the weekend the waiver wire was inactive until Monday.
From a pure scouting perspective, nothing really stood out with Cave. He’s a slightly above-average runner, but he didn’t have enough speed to play in center field on a regular basis. He didn’t really have the arm to play in right field on an every day basis without a big bat to make up for the deficiencies. At the plate he didn’t show much power, though there could be some room in there for double digit home runs in the future if everything develops correctly. He showed solid plate discipline, understanding the strikezone for the most part.
Overall, he looked like a guy who could profile as a solid fourth outfielder in the future, but that may not have been today. Defensively he could back up all three outfield spots, but only left field would he be a quality defender. To come off of the bench as a pinch runner he would have been solid, but as a pinch hitter he may not have been an ideal fit with a current lack of power to fill that specific role and not being a high contact hitter to fill in that specific role.
In the end, it was a bit surprising to see the team send Cave back in order to bring up Tyler Holt. That’s not to say that Holt isn’t likely a better fit for the team right now, particularly since he can play center field at a high level, but in a season like 2016 keeping as much talent in the organization seems like a better plan than keeping a 5th outfielder that you think might be slightly better for right this second.