Cave traded to Rockies; spot open for Rojas

Strahm gets contract extension through ’25

CLEARWATER, Fla. — Less than 24 hours after manager Rob Thomson voiced the Phillies’ concern regarding struggling young center fielder Johan Rojas, the picture regarding Rojas’ immediate future got clearer. So did reliever Matt Strahm’s. The Phillies on Sunday morning traded Jake Cave to the Rockies for cash considerations. Cave was one of three players vying for two outfield spots. Another was Cristian Pache, a talented young player who is out of options. The third was Rojas, an elite defender with unmatched speed on the base paths but a poor hitter.

Rojas, 23, skipped triple A as an emergency replacement when Pache, 25, got injured last summer. Rojas stunned the club by hitting .302 in 59 major-league games last season, but he went 4-for-45 in the playoffs and was 8-for-48 this spring entering Sunday’s game against the Blue Jays.

“We have to do the right thing by him, and that is making sure that we don’t bury him offensively at the big-league level and then have to send him out. We’ve got to be very, very sure that he’s going to be able to perform and just keep his head above water,” Thomson said after Saturday’s game.

Apparently, they were surer

Sunday morning than they were Saturday afternoon.

Cave’s departure not only opens a roster spot but also leaves the Phillies without a dedicated lefthanded bat off the bench. Cave, 31, hit .212 with five homers and eight doubles in 184 at-bats in his first year with the Phillies last season, and he was hitting .333 with three doubles in 30 at-bats this spring, his second strong spring with the club.

The Phillies have left-handed hitter Brandon Marsh, who is expected to platoon in the outfield, and backup catcher Garrett Stubbs, unless they keep utility man Kody Clemens on the team. Clemens has an option.

Thomson said earlier this spring the Phillies didn’t consider the lack of a lefty pinch-hitter to be a major concern.

The Phillies extended Strahm’s contract through 2025 for $7.5 million, with a $7.5 million club option for 2026 that he can vest with 60 innings in 2025. Strahm, 32, landed last season with the Phillies as his fourth major-league club, and he enjoyed the best of his eight seasons.

The extension potentially doubles the Phillies’ investment in Strahm. He is in the second season of a two-year, $15 million deal.

He went 2-3 with a 4.05 ERA in 10 starts and was 7-2 with a 2.82 ERA in 46 relief appearances, then did not give up a run in seven games and 7 ⅔ relief innings in the playoffs.