Any Chance New York Gets Jake Cave Back in 2016?

The New York Yankees had every opportunity in the world to protect and keep a member of their farm system safe from the Rule 5 Draft but the team chose not to. Jake Cave, lefty swinging outfielder, was left unprotected and taken in the draft by the Cincinnati Reds. As you already probably know the Reds have to keep Cave on their 25 man roster all season long or have to offer him back to his original club, the Yankees, after passing him through waivers. Will Cave stick on the roster all season long or is there any shot he is coming back to the Bronx?

Cave started out the spring hitting like a man possessed but has slacked off in the hitting department as of late. Cave was seen hitting above .300 for much of the spring thanks in large part to hits in seven of his first nine spring games including two multiple-hit contests. After that Cave's decline began with four straight hitless games dropping his average to where it stands today, .286. Cave has just one home run and three RBI this spring but Cave does have a few saving grace's if he wants to stay in Cincinnati this season.

The Reds are expected to be one of the worst teams in the National League if not in all of baseball so the team may be willing to keep the 23-year old on the roster for the entire season. Billy Hamilton, the team's best young player, still has concerns over his shoulder and the Reds may need a bit of depth in the outfield and especially at center field this coming season. Whether that's Cave backing up Hamilton or a combination of Tyler Holt, Adam Duvall or Scott Schebler remains to be seen.

Is there a chance that Cave returns to the Bronx in 2016? Sure there is, it's far too early to tell at this point though. Is there a chance he sticks in Cincinnati and is gone from the Yankees organization forever, or more realistically for at least six seasons of service time? That's also just as likely. We don't know, we'll just have to stay tuned. I'm leaning towards "no" though.