Ahead of their season opener this coming Thursday, the Colorado Rockies are making final roster tweaks and one of them involves outfielder Jake Cave. The Rockies acquired Cave from the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for cash considerations, per MLBtraderumors.com's Nick Deeds.
Jake Cave, the Rockies' newest acquisition
A six-year vet, Cave joins the Rockies after a season in Philadelphia. The left-hander slashed .212/.272/.348 in 65 games during the Phillies' 2023 campaign.
Upon Bryce Harper's return from injury, Cave was optioned to the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, where he was named the International League Player of the Month in May after garnering a .400/.500/.798 slash line and a 21-game hit streak. He returned to the majors in July and stayed with the Phillies throughout the rest of the season.
Before, his tenure in The City of Brotherly Love, Cave spent five seasons with the Minnesota Twins, where he slashed an average of .235/.297/.411 to go with a total of 118 runs batted in and 33 home runs.
On the defensive side, Cave is known for being able to play all three outfield positions. Throughout his career, the lefty has seen action 149 times at CF, 138 times at LF and 100 times at RF. In addition, Cave has also been positioned at first base while playing for Philly.
The Rockies' forgettable 2023 season still had silver linings to it
Cave's Sunday acquisition comes amid a plethora of recent decisions by the team. For starters, the Rockies just re-signed shortstop standout Ezequiel Tovar to a seven-year extension. In addition, they placed German Marquez on a 60-day IL following an elbow surgery last year.
This all comes as the Rockies try to bounce back from what could be described as a forgettable 2023. The team finished the season with a 59-103 record — their first 100-loss season in franchise history. The Rockies also tallied a 5.67 ERA as a team and it didn't help how Marquez and Antonio Senzatela both suffered season-ending injuries.
All in all, Colorado's rough 2023 adds another year to their playoff drought. The last time Rockies fans cheered in the postseason was in 2018, when the team managed to reach the NL Divisional Series.
Nevertheless, there are silver linings to all sub-par seasons, and for Colorado, it involves the youth. As mentioned, Tovar was just given an extension following his showing last year. The Venezuelan shortstop batted .253/.287/.408 with 73 runs batted in and 15 homers. Tovar led the entire team in RBI.
Additionally, there's Nolan Jones. Placing fourth in last year's NL Rookie of the Year race, Jones slashed .297/.389/.542 while adding 62 RBI to go with 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases. The 25-year-old also garnered a .931 OPS in 367 at-bats.
While there are plenty of other cracks to fix in the team's Armor, Jones and Tovar are bright spots for the future. As the Rockies wait for further development from the two and their other graduated prospects, they'll have to continue weathering the storm for now.
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