Reds Designate Jake Cave For Assignment
The Reds announced that they have designated Jake Cave for assignment, as John Fay of The Cincinnati Enquirer tweets. Cave, 23, was waived days ago by Cincinnati but was not claimed by another team.
Cave was plucked from the Yankees’ roster in December’s Rule 5 draft but he did not make enough of an impression on Reds brass in recent weeks to warrant a roster spot. In 56 Spring Training plate appearances, Cave slashed .224/.309/.306. Meanwhile, in 132 Double-A and Triple-A games (mostly Double-A) last year, Cave drew attention with a .278/.339/.359 line.
In a December preview of the Rule 5 draft, MLBTR’s Brad Johnson highlighted Cave’s ability to play all three outfield positions and his plate discipline. However, injuries prevented the lefty from fulfilling his potential and he now profiles as a fourth outfield type.
Reds Waive Jake Cave
The Reds have placed outfielder Jake Cave on waivers, C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports (via Twitter). As a Rule 5 pick, Cave will be offered back to the Yankees for $25K if another team doesn’t claim him. Any club that does claim Cave would have to keep him on its 25-man roster for the entire season or lose him to the Yankees.
Cave, 23, failed to impress during 56 Spring Training plate appearances for the Reds, compiling a .224/.309/.306 line that was appreciably worse than his career minor league slash of .285/.346/.391. The 2011 sixth-round pick spent nearly all of last season with Double-A Trenton and hit .278/.339/.359 in 132 games (seven with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre) while swiping 17 bases on 20 attempts.
With Cave out of the picture in Cincinnati, the Reds’ bench come Opening Day is likely to consist of Jordan Pacheco, Scott Schebler and Jose Peraza, according to Rosecrans. Both Pacheco and Schebler have made strong cases for roster spots by thriving offensively this spring.