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

Jake Bauers
Bauers with the Seattle Mariners in 2021
Free agent
First baseman / Left fielder
Born: (1995-10-06) October 6, 1995 (age 29)
Newport Beach, California, U.S.
Bats: Left
Throws: Left
MLB debut
June 7, 2018, for the Tampa Bay Rays
MLB statistics
(through 2024 season)
Batting average.208
Home runs51
Runs batted in183
Stats at Baseball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Teams

Amateur career

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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

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San Diego Padres

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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

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Bauers with the Durham Bulls in 2018

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

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Bauers with the Indians in 2019

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

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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

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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.[28]

New York Yankees

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On June 3, 2022, Bauers was traded to the New York Yankees in exchange for cash considerations.[29] 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.[28] 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 RBI, 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.[28]

Milwaukee Brewers

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On November 17, 2023, the Yankees traded Bauers to the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for minor league outfielders Jace Avina and Brian Sánchez.[33] In 116 games for the Brewers in 2024, he slashed .199/.301/.361 with 12 home runs, 43 RBI, and 13 stolen bases. On November 4, Bauers was removed from the 40–man roster and sent outright to the Triple–A Nashville Sounds, but he rejected the assignment and elected free agency.[34]

Personal life

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Bauers is married to Lauren and the couple has a daughter.[35]

References

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