FORT MYERS, Fla. -- This offseason felt different for Jake Cave. He finally got his shot in the Major League last season, and he showed off both power potential at the plate and versatility in the field, seemingly setting himself up to be the Twins' fourth outfielder in 2019.

But now that the Twins have signed Marwin Gonzalez, who can play the outfield as part of his multipositional skill set, Cave could find himself pushed off Minnesota's bench, again waiting for his opportunity to strike.

"It feels similar," Cave said. "I've been in this situation before."

Before he finally got his chance with the Twins last year, Cave was stuck in the Yankees' system behind top outfield prospects like Clint Frazier and Aaron Judge. After Cave hit .324/.367/.554 with 15 homers in 2017, the Bronx Bombers traded for Giancarlo Stanton.

Upon moving to Minnesota in a low-profile trade prior to the 2018 season, Cave got an opportunity to man center field in Byron Buxton's extended absence. After going deep in his Major League debut, he hit .269/.316/.481 with 13 homers in 91 games. Cave barreled 14.5 percent of his batted balls, placing him 12th in the Major Leagues, one spot behind Stanton.

Cave said that his power started to play a bigger factor when he changed his timing at the plate to be earlier to the ball. In fact, his Major League success showed him that he doesn't need to bulk up any more in order to drive the baseball.

Despite his strong 2018 season, the 26-year-old Cave still showed up to Spring Training ready to fight for his spot. It's all he knows.

"It's a cool feeling, but it's weird because that all shuts off when you get to camp," Cave said. "I know that I have nothing handed to me. I've never had anything handed to me. So I'm just out there trying to play my [rear] off and show them that I can play in the big leagues for sure."

Cave has been on both of the Twins' long road trips this spring to Clearwater and West Palm Beach -- over two hours each way -- and went all-out for a diving catch in center field during last Thursday's game in Port Charlotte against the Rays, Spring Training be darned.

"He has a great perspective and attitude and way of showing up to the field every day where he is going to be ready to go when we ask him to head out there and play," manager Rocco Baldelli said. "He's already shown in these early Spring Training games that he's still here to prove himself, even after what he did last year."

Cave said that he's always been slow to get going at the plate in Spring Training. Even as Buxton, Eddie Rosario and Max Kepler have jumped out to strong starts in spring games, Cave has drawn Baldelli's attention not only for his can-do attitude, but for his energy and personality in the clubhouse.

So Cave is not going to worry about the roster situation, which is completely out of his hands. As last year showed, he's poised to take any opportunity and run with it.

"If there was something I could do about the roster spot, I'd obviously have myself penciled in as a starting outfielder in the big leagues," Cave said. "But I can't do that. The only thing I can control is what I do.

"I just think that good players get a chance to play, regardless of whether it's with the Twins or playing on other teams, so I'm just out there playing as hard as I can. If Buxton bats 1.000, I'll say good job to him. And if I do, that's just what I'm trying to do every day."