Rays Trade Veteran Outfielder Jake Cave to White Sox for Cash

The Tampa Bay Rays are moving on from one of their veteran outfielders as the calendar officially flips to September.

According to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, the Rays are trading Jake Cave to the Chicago White Sox in exchange for cash considerations.

Cave was on a minor league deal with Tampa Bay and spent his time with Triple-A Durham, never appearing in a Major League game for the Rays.

The veteran played in 36 games and had 127 plate appearances with Durham, hitting .245 with three home runs and five doubles.

He also spent some time in the Mexican League earlier this year, where he had much more success. Cave hit .307 with four home runs, 15 doubles, and 24 RBIs with El Águila de Veracruz.

However, there wasn't exactly a clear path for him to reach Tampa Bay. The Rays have plenty of options in the outfield, and with rosters expanding from 26 to 28 players in September, Cave didn't appear to be one of the players expected to get the call.

Now, he'll get another opportunity with the White Sox, who may be the most surprising team in baseball as they lead the AL Central division with a 72-64 record.

Meanwhile, the Rays will begin a three-game series against the New York Mets on Monday night at Tropicana Field after completing a sweep of the San Diego Padres over the weekend.

Tampa Bay has won four straight games and currently owns the best record in the American League at 82-54.

More importantly, the Rays are getting extremely close to officially punching their ticket to the postseason.

Entering Monday, Tampa Bay's Magic Number to clinch a playoff spot sits at 12, which is currently the smallest in Major League Baseball.

That number can continue to fall with Rays wins and losses, and with losses by teams chasing them in the standings. 

Of course, simply making the postseason isn't the main goal anymore. Working towards the franchise's first World Series is certainly the goal.

Tampa Bay has built a 4.5-game lead over the New York Yankees in the American League East and is in a strong position to compete for the top seed in the AL.

The Rays will now have another opportunity to add to that lead against the Mets.

Ian Seymour is scheduled to get the start Monday as Tampa Bay looks for its fifth straight victory.

New York has struggled recently, losing three consecutive series, but getting Juan Soto back from the injured list should provide another challenge for the Rays pitching staff.