If someone from the Rule 5 Draft doesn’t make his new team’s roster, he has the chance to return to his former club. That’s the case with Jake Cave and the New York Yankees, as the outfielder failed to make the Cincinnati Reds Opening Day roster after a decent Spring Training.
Earlier today, the Yankees re-acquired OF Jake Cave from Cincinnati as a Rule 5 draft return and assigned him to Double-A Trenton.
— Yankees PR Dept. (@YankeesPR) April 5, 2016
Cave was the second overall pick in the 2015 Rule 5 draft, and many expected him to have a pretty good chance to make the Reds team, simply due to their lack of depth in the outfield.
Over the exhibition season, Cave started off strong but tailed off when it mattered most. After hitting .347 over the first eight days of Spring, his stock plummeted, registering just six total hits over the rest of Spring Training. His final slash line wasn’t bad (255/.349/.364), but was beat out by Scott Schebler for the final outfield spot.
Fortunately for the Yankees, Cave’s return gives the organization depth in the outfield, which is a position that is oft-injured.
Splitting time between Double-A and Triple-A, the 23-year old lefty had a .278 average with a .698 OPS in 132 total games. Over that span, he hit 33 extra base hits, 39 runs batted in and stole 17 bases in 20 tries.
Despite his high strikeout totals, Cave is an above average contact hitter with doubles power. In addition, he is a versatile defender, as he’s played in all three outfield positions over the course of his career. Although he’s returning to the Trenton Thunder roster, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Cave makes his way up the Yankees ranks, joining the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders at some point in 2016.
Dan Federico is the Managing Editor and Staff Writer for Outside Pitch MLB. You can follow and interact with him on Twitter or contact him via email here
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