Jake Cave was one of the more interesting players in the Minnesota Twins’ lineup. He was the type of player who would be good, then cool off and struggle, and then catch fire again. Although no longer affiliated with the organization, I find myself reminiscing about his on-again/off-again impact while donning the Twins’ uniform.
He’s having a stellar season right now with the Philadelphia Phillies and has me wondering if Minnesota made a mistake with how they handled, given how the Twins lineup has struggled this year. Would Cave have made Minnesota a better team had they offered him a permanent roster spot? Or is he simply having another stellar season with low productivity on the horizon?
The Twins acquired Cave from the New York Yankees in a 2018 trade that sent Luis Gil to the Bronx. During his five seasons in Minnesota, Cave played in 335 games primarily as an outfielder, but could also fill in at first base if necessary. He was one of four in the 2018-19 season, competing with LaMonte Wade Jr. Cave appeared in 163 games in 2018-19, slashing .262/.329/.466 with 21 homers, 27 doubles, and four triples.
With his production, Cave ultimately took a roster spot from Wade. The Twins sent Wade to the San Francisco Giants for relief pitcher Shaun Anderson. Unfortunately for Minnesota, Anderson didn’t work out. After a brief four games with the Twins, he was DFA’d after posting a 9.35 ERA in 8.2 innings with eight strikeouts and a terrible 2.077 WHIP.
The Texas Rangers claimed Anderson off waivers, and he would continue bouncing around the league with different teams, even doing a short stint overseas before coming back to the majors settling into a relief role. The Twins had cemented Byron Buxton and Max Kepler in their lineup at the time, meaning Wade became superfluous. Cave was a solid utility outfielder with more playing experience who could take over if needed. Having Alex Kirilloff and Trevor Larnach waiting in the minors further justified the trade with the Giants.
The Twins have occasionally made trades that backfired, and this one could easily be considered one of those. Trading Wade hurt Minnesota in the long run. Wade has been productive since and became one of San Francisco’s core pieces in the competitive NL West. This year, he’s slashing .256/.378/.413 with 13 homers.
Cave’s production fell off in 2020, and he never regained his early form in Minnesota. The Twins outright released him in the 2021-22 offseason. Cave spent most of his time in Triple-A before Minnesota recalled him in August of that year. He had encouraging results for St. Paul, slashing .273/.370/.509 in 85 games. However, he wasn’t able to reproduce those results with the Twins.
In his last three seasons with Minnesota, Cave had a lifeless .206/.252/.352 slash line and struck out in 32.4% of his plate appearances. Injuries are partly to blame for his downturn in production, especially in May 2021. Cave fractured his lower back and would end up spending multiple months on the injured list.
After the 2022 season, Minnesota ultimately had to trim their 40-man roster down and put Cave and other players on waivers. He finished the season batting .213/.260/.384 with five homers. However, it wasn’t enough to secure a permanent roster spot.
The Baltimore Orioles claimed Cave off waivers in October of last year, but he never played a game for them. Baltimore tried to sneak him through waivers in hopes of keeping him without allocating a 40-man roster spot. The Philadelphia Phillies would end up claiming Cave on Dec. 2 last year, and placed Cave in a situation where he thrived.
Cave could have easily been considered an unnecessary risk for the Phillies, given his struggles and injuries with the Twins. But Cave didn’t waste any time making an impact in spring training, slashing .462/.500/.827. He made it impossible for Philadelphia not to give him an opening-day roster spot.
He was somewhat of a regular starter on the season, mainly filling in for the injured Bryce Harper at first base until his return from IL later in the year. Cave slashed .222/.286/.333 with one homer before being sent down to the Phillies Triple-A Iron Pigs. Cave’s production didn’t stop in Lehigh Valley. He slashed .346/.429/.684 with 16 homers, making him one of the best Triple-A hitters this season.
Philadelphia took notice. They recalled Cave on July 21, and he hasn’t cooled off since. In his last 15 games, Cave is slashing .297/.357/.595 with three homers and is a regular part of their lineup. Cave has been a big factor in keeping the Phillies in playoff contention this season.
Some might believe that Cave needed a change of scenery to become an impact player again. However, I wonder if the Twins repeated an all-too-familiar mistake with Cave, allowing struggling impact players to get away and thrive elsewhere again.
