Jake Bauers Explained

Jake Bauers
Team:Milwaukee Brewers
Number:9
Position:First baseman / Left fielder
Bats:Left
Throws:Left
Birth Date:6 October 1995
Birth Place:Newport Beach, California, U.S.
Debutleague:MLB
Debutdate:June 7
Debutyear:2018
Debutteam:Tampa Bay Rays
Statleague:MLB
Statyear:August 6, 2024
Stat1label:Batting average
Stat1value:.211
Stat2label:Home runs
Stat2value:47
Stat3label:Runs batted in
Stat3value:175
Teams:
Highlights:

Jakob Christopher Bauers (born October 6, 1995) is an American professional baseball first baseman, outfielder, and designated hitter for the Milwaukee Brewers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Tampa Bay Rays, Cleveland Guardians, Seattle Mariners and the New York Yankees. He bats and throws left-handed.

Amateur career

Bauers played amateur baseball with Ocean View Little League and with a travel baseball team based in Huntington Beach, California. He attended Marina High School in Huntington Beach, where he played for the school's baseball team and as a senior in 2013 led the Vikings to the California Interscholastic Federation's Southern Section Division 1 finals at Dodger Stadium.[1] [2] He committed to attend the University of Hawaii on a college baseball scholarship.[3]

Professional career

San Diego Padres

The San Diego Padres selected Bauers in the seventh round, with the 208th overall selection, of the 2013 MLB draft.[4] Bauers spent his first professional season with the Arizona Padres of the Rookie-level Arizona League,[5] posting a .282 batting average in 47 games. In 2014, Bauers played for the Fort Wayne TinCaps of the Class A Midwest League where he batted .296 with eight home runs and 64 RBIs in 112 games.[6] He was named a postseason All-Star.[7]

Tampa Bay Rays

On December 19, 2014, the Padres traded Bauers, Burch Smith, and René Rivera to the Tampa Bay Rays in a three-team trade that saw the Rays trade Wil Myers, Jose Castillo and Ryan Hanigan to the Padres, the Padres trade Joe Ross and a player to be named later (Trea Turner) to the Washington Nationals, and Washington traded Steven Souza and Travis Ott to Tampa Bay.[8] He began the 2015 season with the Charlotte Stone Crabs of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League, and was promoted to the Montgomery Biscuits of the Class AA Southern League in June.[9] He finished the 2015 season with a combined .272 batting average with 11 home runs and 74 RBIs in 128 games between both teams. He stayed with the Biscuits for the 2016 season and batted .274 with 14 home runs and 78 RBIs in 135 games. Bauers spent the 2017 season with the Durham Bulls of the Class AAA International League where he batted .263 with 13 home runs, 63 RBIs and a career high twenty stolen bases in 132 games.[10] [11] The Rays added him to their 40-man roster after the season.[12] Bauers returned to Durham at the beginning of the 2018 season.[13]

The Rays promoted Bauers to the major leagues on June 7, 2018, and he made his major league debut the same night. In 52 games for Durham prior to his promotion, he was batting .279 with five home runs and 24 RBIs.[14] He got his first major league hit, a double, on June 9 off of Seattle Mariners pitcher Félix Hernández.[15] [16] On June 24, 2018, Bauers hit his first career walk-off, a home run, against Chasen Shreve of the New York Yankees to finish a three-game sweep.[17] Bauers homered in three straight games from July 29 to August 1.[18] On August 23, Bauers scored the walk-off run, beating out a throw to home plate from Royals first baseman Ryan O'Hearn to secure a four-game sweep.[19] In 96 games, he hit .201 with 11 home runs and 46 RBIs.

Cleveland Indians

On December 13, 2018, the Rays traded Bauers to the Cleveland Indians in a three-team trade in which the Rays acquired Yandy Díaz and Cole Sulser, and the Seattle Mariners acquired Edwin Encarnación from the Indians for Carlos Santana.[20] On June 14, 2019, Bauers hit for the cycle against the Detroit Tigers.[21] He was sent down to AAA on August 1, 2019. He was hitting .233 with 11 home runs in 100 games.[22] Bauers did not make an appearance for the Indians in 2020.

In 2021, Bauers struggled to a .190/.277/.280 batting line with two home runs and six RBIs in 43 games before being designated for assignment on June 5, 2021.[23]

Seattle Mariners

On June 10, 2021, the Indians traded Bauers to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for a player to be named later or cash (pitching prospect Damon Casetta-Stubbs was sent to the Indians on July 9 as the PTBNL).[24] [25] He made his Mariners debut that day, and notched a hit in his first at-bat with the team, a single off of Detroit Tigers starter Tyler Alexander. On September 19, against the Kansas City Royals, Bauers hit a home run with a projected distance of 460 ft – the longest homer by a Mariner since Mike Zunino in 2018, with only Zunino and Nelson Cruz having gone longer as Mariners since the 2015 season.[26] Bauers played in 72 games for the Mariners, hitting .220 with 2 home runs and 13 RBIs. He became a free agent following the season.

Cincinnati Reds

On December 20, 2021, Bauers signed a minor league contract with the Cincinnati Reds.[27] Bauers began 2022 with the Triple-A Louisville Bats, hitting .135 with three home runs in 29 games.

New York Yankees

On June 3, 2022, Bauers was traded to the New York Yankees in exchange for cash considerations.[28] He spent the remainder of the year with the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, where the Yankees worked with Bauers to change his swing. He hit .226/.352/.406 with 5 home runs and 16 RBI across 32 contests for the RailRiders.[29] He elected free agency following the season on November 10.[30] On December 14, Bauers re–signed with the Yankees on a minor league contract.[31]

Playing in 21 games for Scranton to begin the 2023 season, Bauers hit .304/.488/.797 with nine home runs, 20 RBIs, and five stolen bases. On April 29, Bauers had his contract selected to the active roster.[32] He had his first multi-homer game on June 3 against the Los Angeles Dodgers.[29]

Milwaukee Brewers

On November 17, 2023, the Yankees traded Bauers to the Milwaukee Brewers for minor league outfielders Jace Avina and Brian Sánchez.[33]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Eric Sondheimer: Stress is a foreign notion to Marina's Jake Bauers. Los Angeles Times. May 20, 2013 . December 17, 2014.
  2. Web site: HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL: Marina standout Bauers' two home runs too much for Agoura. Los Angeles Daily News. May 24, 2013. December 17, 2014.
  3. Web site: 'Bows recruit Bauers agrees to terms with Padres, voiding UH commitment. KHON2. June 12, 2013. December 17, 2014.
  4. Web site: Whirlwind week for Bauers. Huntington Beach Independent. December 17, 2014.
  5. Web site: Jake Bauers' bat making an impact in the Padres' system. Fox Sports. July 29, 2014. December 17, 2014.
  6. Web site: Stock Watch: San Diego Padres Jake Bauers' bat worth watching - MiLB.com News - The Official Site of Minor League Baseball. MiLB.com. December 17, 2014.
  7. Web site: Fort Wayne's Bauers Named MWL Postseason All-Star. WANE. December 17, 2014.
  8. Web site: Padres, Rays and Nationals complete Wil Myers trade. Chris. Cwick. CBS Sports. December 19, 2014. December 19, 2014.
  9. Web site: Bauers debuts with flourish for Biscuits . MiLB.com . June 26, 2015 . April 13, 2018.
  10. Web site: Jake Bauers Stats, Highlights, Bio - MiLB.com Stats - The Official Site of Minor League Baseball. MiLB.com. February 12, 2018.
  11. Web site: Johnsonjjohnson . Joe . Versatile, sweet-swinging Bauers finding his groove with Bulls & Observer . Newsobserver.com . April 24, 2017 . June 10, 2017.
  12. Web site: Chastain . Bill . Brent Honeywell, Jake Bauers on Rays' roster | MLB.com . M.mlb.com . January 20, 2016 . April 13, 2018.
  13. Web site: Pope . Jonas . Durham Bulls opening game | baseball preview, April 4, 2018 | News & Observer . Newsobserver.com . April 4, 2018 . April 13, 2018.
  14. Web site: Jake Bauers Stats, Highlights, Bio - MiLB.com Stats - The Official Site of Minor League Baseball. MiLB.com. June 18, 2018.
  15. Web site: Rays to call up Jake Bauers on Thursday . https://web.archive.org/web/20180612142219/http://www.tampabay.com/article/20180606/ARTICLE/306069526/1120 . dead . June 12, 2018 . Tampa Bay Times . June 23, 2019.
  16. Web site: Game 63: Rays 7 Seattle 3— Postgame News and Notes . June 9, 2018 . Rays Radio . June 23, 2019.
  17. Web site: Yankees vs. Rays 06/24/18. MLB.com. en. June 24, 2018.
  18. Web site: Rays journal: Hechavarria seesaw ride finally ends. www.tampabay.com. en. August 2, 2018.
  19. News: Rays journal: Jake Bauers scores winning run off Royals error. August 23, 2018. August 26, 2018.
  20. Web site: Rays get infielder Diaz, trade Bauers to Tribe. . December 13, 2018.
  21. Web site: Jake Bauers staying put after hitting for cycle as Cleveland Indians roll Tigers, 13-4 . Paul . Hoynes. cleveland.com . June 14, 2019 . June 14, 2019.
  22. Web site: Noga. Joe. Cleveland Indians option Jake Bauers, Greg Allen to Triple-A as Yasiel Puig, Franmil Reyes join roster. cleveland.com. August 1, 2019. November 29, 2020.
  23. Web site: Cleveland Indians recall Bobby Bradley, DFA Jake Bauers and promote RHP Blake Parker. June 5, 2021. The Plain Dealer. June 10, 2021.
  24. Web site: Indians Acquire Damon Casetta-Stubbs from Mariners to Complete Jake Bauers Trade.
  25. Web site: Bauers, DFA'd by Indians, acquired by Mariners. June 10, 2021. ESPN.com. June 10, 2021.
  26. Web site: Mariners outfielder Jake Bauers finding his swing, smacks 460-foot homer. September 19, 2021. SeattleTimes.com. September 22, 2021.
  27. Web site: Reds Sign Jake Bauers To Minor League Deal. December 20, 2021. MLB Trade Rumors. December 20, 2021.
  28. Web site: Yankees' Jake Bauers: Acquired by Yankees. January 8, 2023. cbssports.com. en.
  29. Web site: Miller . Randy . June 4, 2023 . How Yankees revitalized Jake Bauers’ dying career . May 17, 2024 . nj . en.
  30. Web site: 2022-23 Minor League Free Agents For All 30 MLB Teams. July 25, 2023. baseballamerica.com. en.
  31. Web site: Yankees sign 2 veterans to minor-league deals. July 25, 2023. nj.com. en.
  32. Web site: Yankees' Jake Bauers: Added to MLB roster. April 29, 2023. cbssports.com. en.
  33. Web site: Brewers acquire 1B/OF Jake Bauers from Yankees . May 17, 2024 . MLB.com . en.