What Do the Twins See in Jake Cave?

As one of the posters who consistently puts Cave down, I appreciate your essay, but it does not go far enough.  What is Cave's future versus Rooker or others?  I am not a fan of Cave and do not like the idea that he blocks possible young talent that can do so much more. 

2020 was an odd year but so was 2019 with the juiced ball.  It is really hard to get a feel for what guys might do or be capable of doing in 2021.  I was fine with Caves production until last year when it was really bad. I think he gets hated on too much but he needs to perform this year.

Larnach needs to be added to the 40 man next year so someone has to go as they are not going to carry 8 outfielders.  Someone out of Garlic, Rooker and Cave need to be moved next year and honestly with all the pitchers that might need to be added they might want to slim down to 6 outfielders so might need to get rid of two of those three.

Cave needs to have a good year if he plans on staying with the Twins.  Average production won't keep him ahead of Kirilloff, Larnach and Celestino.  Also with so many lefties Rooker and Garlic have more value as righties.  He is going to have prove he belongs because after this year he doesn't look like a good fit in Minnesota.

Great article. Platooning is still cool BTW.

Well, one thing they see is the ability to play CF so they don’t have a defensive outfield of Arraez-Kepler-Rooker on days Buxton is off.

Jake Cave is a nice guy who's had a pretty good run with the Twins as a 4th outfielder.  With the OF talent waiting behind him, I think this is his swan song with the team.

Cave is a clog in the rookie call up wheel. Hope the Twins unclog that wheel and send Cave down the river soon. I am not a fan of his ..

If you figure Arraez will play LF 3 days a week (if he doesn't there is something wrong here), there are only 4 days to cover with Arraez playing 2nd the other 3 days or third. That leaves Cave playing about 3 times a week and Garlick 1 until Kirloff comes up.  We shall see. 

Over his last 1,000 ABs, Rosario had a wRC+ of 98. Jake Cave had a wRC+ of 103 during the same time period and 572 ABs. Cave’s defense is better and I would guess Garlick will be about the same, maybe even a little better given how often Rosario throws to the wrong base or airmails the cutoff man. I think a platoon of Cave / Garlick has a good chance of being an upgrade.

The even better news is that Kirilloff and/or Larnach should being in those positions and producing well above average for the next 6+ years. I think there is a good chance Cave is traded sometime this year.

I am pleased that the Twins are generally keeping and starting the better defenders. That seems to be the case with Cave vs the other available options.

Well, one thing they see is the ability to play CF so they don’t have a defensive outfield of Arraez-Kepler-Rooker on days Buxton is off.

I honestly think Broxton would make the better option than Cave in CF if Buxton goes down. It seems the Twins have really struggled when Cave has had to fill in for Buxton.

I’m not a big fan, except he’s a Twin! But he could win me over as Dobnak has. I do appreciate that Cave plays strong defense and plays really hard, like Lenny Dykstra did. It’s just that bat overall has been below major league average for an MLB outfielder, IMO, although I have seen flashes that make me think he could turn that around. Big year for Jake Cave. I think, in reality, the LF position hasn’t been won. Someone may still seize it. Otherwise Rocco will be happy to rotate based on matchups. Don’t count out Rooker and Broxton....it’s a long MLB season!

As one of the posters who consistently puts Cave down, I appreciate your essay, but it does not go far enough.  What is Cave's future versus Rooker or others?  I am not a fan of Cave and do not like the idea that he blocks possible young talent that can do so much more. 

I am not a fan of Cave either, but if the team feels he gives them a better chance to win now, versus someone else then so be it.  You advocate for Rooker, which I support, but reports are he cannot field pretty much at all.  Which means he will need to hit that much more than what a platoon of Cave and Garlick does because both are reported to be better on defense.  Either guy will be hitting near bottom every game.  If Rooker could carry the offense and make up for his terrible defense and we would win more games with him, I would be all for him out there. 

However, we need to win now, not get a guy some time to win for later.  If that means sitting a guy that is not ready, then do it.  Personally, I think Kirolloff will be making his way over sooner than later. 

Cave is a fourth outfielder. That does not block any talent from becoming a major league player except for the player destined to become the next Jake Cave. Jake Cave will continue to be a Twin until either his production drops or the year after he wins an arbitration case. People just need to get used to the idea

All that heralded outfield depth, and we are left with Cave, Garlick, ....... Astudillo, and Arraez - the latter 2 not even close to outfielders. That is some outfield depth, eh? It is what championship teams are made of.

I don't want to see Arraez in LF at all. He is not good out there. If his knees are a problem then I surely don't want him running around in the outfield. He is infield depth for me really only playing second and third with Polanco covering short. Maybe first and DH once and a while as it stands now but if Rooker and or Kirlloff were up and performing they could cover those positions. DH ok, but Luis is too short for first.

Cave is ok at LF, Buxton makes him look good. He beat out Kiriloff as LH platoon. But as Buxton replacement we should do much better. If want to compete.

Great take...however...a couple things...Jake Cave has never been able to carry Eddie Rosario's gear bag from the bus to the clubhouse let alone wear his cleats in any facet of the game. Just stop with that nonsense. Jake Cave will never play center field unless its a 12-2 blowout. If Buxton gets hurt you will see Kepler(or maybe Celestino) in center and then maybe once in awhile Cave in right or left. What everyone here always wants to say is how Rosario sucks on defense and thats just bullcrap. In 2019 Buxton got hurt and they moved Rosario to right field so Arraez could stumble around in left. I actually played the game and everything is way different when you have to switch like that. Rosario also had a sprained ankle and played through it. It doesn't show up on your damn analytics spread sheet. To say Cave or Rooker or Kiriloff or Garlick is a better defender than Rosario is hilarious. That position will now become a revolving door all year that will have all of us holding our breath whenever a ball gets hit out there or covering our eyes whenever one of them comes up with runners in scoring position. Don't worry though. We have the best front office in the history of Major League Baseball. They know what they are doing.

I have a hard time believing that any of our prospects could out perform a platoon of Cave and Garlic out of the gate. Especially considering last year's covid circumstances. Now once they settle back in and get some current games under their belts, who ever breaks out will have a clear and painless path to every day play on the big club. Patience in this situation is best IMHO.