Former Philadelphia Phillies veteran Jake Cave has returned to the MLB.
Cave began his MLB career in 2018 with the Minnesota Twins and played for Minnesota for five seasons before the Phillies claimed him off waivers from the Baltimore Orioles, who claimed him off waivers weeks prior.
Cave played the 2023 season with the Phillies before he was traded to the Colorado Rockies. With the Phillies, he hit .212 with 5 home runs and 21 RBIs in 65 games.
After the 2024 season, he couldn’t find an MLB deal, and he signed a one-year, $1 million deal with the Doosan Bears in KBO.
He has since been playing in Mexico, and on Thursday, he signed a minor-league deal with the Tampa Bay Rays. Cave was assigned to the Durham Bulls, who are the Triple-A affiliate of the Rays.
Cave is an outfielder who adds some depth to the Rays system. In his MLB career, the 33-year-old has appeared in 523 career games, hitting .236 with 45 home runs and 176 RBIs.
Cave Wanted to Make an Impact For Phillies
Philadelphia claimed Cave off waivers to add depth for the 2023 season, and in spring training he wanted to prove he’s an MLB player.
Cave ended up appearing in 65 games and 3 playoff games. Back in spring training, Cave said he knew he was an MLB player.
“I know when I’m healthy, I can bring some things to the table,” Cave said back in 2023. “I’m just trying to show that. I’m 30. But I feel just as strong, just as fast as I’ve ever felt in my life. I’m in a pretty good spot.
“It was an injury thing. I broke my back in 2021, I think that was a big deal because I’d been feeling that for a while. I don’t know how it happened but it happened. In 2021, I was hurting to start the year but played through it. Then I eventually got an MRI and broke an L5. So 2020, the COVID year, I wasn’t happy with my production and 2021, I was hurt a lot. But I was happy with last year. The Twins took me off the roster and I started the year at Triple A really well, got called back up and did pretty well in the big leagues too.”
Cave plays solid defensively, and he looks to prove once again that he’s an MLB player.
Philadelphia Has Trade Deadline Need
The Phillies are firmly in a playoff spot and will look to bolster their roster.
Philadelphia started the season slowly, but has turned it around and should be a buyer ahead of the deadline. MLB insider Jim Bowden believes the team will look to add an outfielder to the roster.
“Need: Outfielder. Acquiring another outfielder is the Phillies’ top priority after the significant injury to Adolis García. Although fans would love to see a Mike Trout trade, that seems extremely unlikely at this point due to his contract and the historical unwillingness of Angels ownership to trade their superstars,” Bowden wrote.
The Phillies are 44-36 and 4.5 games back of the Atlanta Braves for the top spot in the NL East.
Like HEAVY’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
The post Former Phillies 7-Year Veteran Returns to MLB After Stint in Korea and Mexico appeared first on HEAVY.