The Phillies optioned Cave to Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Tuesday.
The move clears out a 26-man roster spot for Bryce Harper (elbow), who is back from Tommy John surgery and making his season debut Tuesday at Dodger Stadium. Cave, 30, had batted .222/.286/.333 in 20 games (70 plate appearances) this season.
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Phillies' Jake Cave: Sits against lefty
Rotowire
Cave is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Mariners.
The lefty-hitting Cave will sit against a left-hander (Marco Gonzales) as he typically does, but the outfielder may be at risk of losing out on a regular work versus right-handers, too. Over 49 plate appearances against right-handed pitching this season, Cave has mustered a lowly .186/.265/.279 slash line (50 wRC+).
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Phillies' Jake Cave: On bench against righty
Rotowire
Cave is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Rockies.
The lefty-hitting Cave will take a seat for the second straight game, this time versus a right-handed pitcher (Jose Urena) after previously exiting the lineup against lefty Kyle Freeland in Saturday's 4-3 win over Colorado. Though he's mostly held down a strong-side platoon role this season, Cave is hitting just .185/.262/.278 across 61 plate appearances and may be starting to lose some job security.
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Phillies' Jake Cave: Not starting Game 2
Rotowire
Cave isn't in the lineup for the second game of Philadelphia's doubleheader with the White Sox on Tuesday, Alex Coffey of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
Cave is 5-for-19 over the Phillies' last four games, including a 1-for-4 performance in Game 1 on Tuesday. Nick Castellanos will take over in right field for the nightcap, moving Kyle Schwarber into the DH slot and Cristian Pache in to start in left field and bat ninth.
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Phillies' Jake Cave: Knocks in four
Rotowire
Cave went 2-for-6 with four RBI and a run scored during Sunday's 14-3 win over the Reds.
Cave hit a bases-clearing double in the first to extend Philadelphia's lead to 6-0 and came around to score on a Josh Harrison RBI single. The outfielder added an RBI single in the fourth, marking his third multi-hit game of the season.
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Phillies' Jake Cave: Not in lineup Thursday
Rotowire
Cave is not in the starting lineup Thursday against the Reds.
Nick Castellanos is in right field and batting cleanup with left-hander Nick Lodolo on the mound for the host Reds. Kyle Schwarber will cover left field, Cristian Pache will handle center and Josh Harrison is the DH. Cave is only currently playing versus righties and has struggled to a .174/.286/.348 batting line through 28 plate appearances on the year.
Cave is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Yankees.
The Phillies are facing a lefty (Nestor Cortes) for the second game in a row, so the lefty-hitting Cave will once again retreat to the bench. Cave should still have a path to a strong-side platoon role in the corner outfield so long as Bryce Harper (elbow) remains on the shelf, likely until at least late May.
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Phillies' Jake Cave: On bench against southpaw
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Cave is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Rangers.
Cave received starts in left and right field in the first two games of the season, and he went 0-for-7 with a walk, a stolen base and three strikeouts. Josh Harrison, Cristian Pache and Nick Castellanos will start from left to right in the outfield Sunday versus Rangers lefty Martin Perez.
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Phillies' Jake Cave: Starting in LF in opener
Rotowire
Cave will start in left field and bat eighth in the Phillies' season opener Thursday against the Rangers.
Cave earned an Opening Day roster spot after slashing .440/.481/.820 over 54 plate appearances this spring in the Grapefruit League, and now he gets the honor of being part of the Opening Day lineup for the reigning NL champions. Still, the 30-year-old outfielder seems like an iffy bet to carry meaningful fantasy value here in 2023.
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Phillies' Jake Cave: Might see boost in playing time
Rotowire
Cave could be in line for an uptick in playing time with the Phillies following the injury to Rhys Hoskins (knee).
Cave might have already been playing his way onto the roster with a big spring which has seen him slash .425/.477/.875 with three homers, 12 RBI and one stolen base. Now he could get a lot of run against right-handers, whether that comes in the designated hitter spot or in right field if the Phils want to put Nick Castellanos at DH. Cave showed flashes early on during his days with the Twins but has just a .614 OPS over the last three seasons. He was claimed off waivers by Philadelphia in December.
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Phillies' Jake Cave: Claimed by Phillies
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Cave was claimed off waivers by the Phillies on Friday.
Cave was claimed by the Orioles shortly after the end of the regular season, but he was placed on outright assignment waivers a couple months later. Now in Philadelphia and coming off a .644 OPS season, Cave will likely take on a depth role in the Phillies' outfield.
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Orioles' Jake Cave: Claimed by Orioles
Rotowire
Cave was claimed off waivers by the Orioles on Tuesday, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.
The 29-year-old outfielder slashed .213/.260/.384 in 2022 and will likely compete in spring training for a reserve role in the outfield.. The Orioles designated Jake Reed for assignment in a corresponding move to make room for Cave on the 40-man roster.
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Twins' Jake Cave: Two doubles during victory
Rotowire
Cave went 3-for-3 with two doubles, an RBI and two runs scored in Wednesday's win over the White Sox.
Cave tallied two doubles in addition to a second-inning RBI single, all off righty starter Johnny Cueto. During his last eight games, the outfielder has turned in a .333 average with three doubles and a triple over 27 at-bats. The 29-year-old has been significantly more productive at home during 2022, recording a .755 OPS over 86 plate appearances compared to a .589 OPS over 64 plate appearances on the road.
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Twins' Jake Cave: Resting against lefty
Rotowire
Cave is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Royals.
With a southpaw (Daniel Lynch) on the hill for Kansas City, the lefty-hitting Cave will retreat to the bench following three consecutive starts. Cave's absence from the lineup paves the way for Jermaine Palacios to pick up a start in the middle infield while Nick Gordon mans left field.
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Twins' Jake Cave: Slugs homer Sunday
Rotowire
Cave went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Sunday's 3-0 win over the Guardians.
The home run was Cave's second of the weekend and his fifth of the season. He'll get a chance to build on that power production in Monday's series finale -- Cave will start in left field and bat seventh.
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Twins' Jake Cave: Drills fourth home run
Rotowire
Cave went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer in Friday's 4-3 loss to Cleveland.
Cave launched a two-run shot off Triston McKenzie in the fourth inning and poked a single in the ninth. The 29-year-old outfielder had been stuck in a 5-for-34 (.147) skid over 10 games since his last multi-hit effort Sept. 4. With this performance, Cave improved his season slash line to .212/.262/.404 through 35 games.
