Philadelphia Phillies spring training games are underway, which is always an exciting time for fans. For some players, it's also a golden opportunity to make their MLB club on Opening Day. Position battles will ensue for those who are trying to earn a roster spot on their respective teams by the end of camp.
Take Jake Cave for example, who earned the Phillies' Opening Day left fielder job in 2023 with a strong showing in Clearwater. Cave struggled to produce in the regular season for the Phillies before being traded to the Colorado Rockies by the end of the following spring and signing in Korea for 2025, where he had a short stint for the KBO's Doosan Bears that was impressive enough to earn another contract in a different foreign league.
Former Phillie Jake Cave signed by the Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos of the Mexican League
The KBO saw the best season of Cave's professional baseball career last season, as he mashed 16 home runs to go with an impressive .299/.351/.463 slash line. That impressed the Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos of the Mexican League enough to ink Cave to a contract for this upcoming season. The seven-year MLB veteran will get a chance to prove that last year's performance wasn't a fluke in a possible attempt to prove he's still got some talent left in the tank for MLB teams.
Of course, the level of pitching in Korea and Mexico is far different from that in the MLB, as evidenced by Cave's career .236/.292/.400 slash line in the majors. Those career numbers look better than his .212/.272/.348 showing with the Phillies that are the second-worst of his career across the board. The Phillies certainly expected more out of the Cave, even as a low-risk waiver claim from the Baltimore Orioles.
The Phillies optioned Cave in May 2023 before recalling him nearly three months later, where he played first base for the first time as Bryce Harper was battling a back injury. He always seemed like a team player, given his willingness to learn a new position and constant hustle but things never worked out for Cave during his lone season in Philadelphia.
It was a Philadelphia tenure that ended with Cave making the final out of the team's epic 2023 NLCS collapse in a season that Phillies fans and Cave would both like to forget.