Cash Shows Continued Trust In Front Office

Kevin Cash is now the longest tenured manager in Major League Baseball, and he knows that the success he’s had as a manager on the field is because the front office has been able to put together high-quality teams that have led to five straight postseason appearances.

“They’re ​going ​to ​do ​everything ​they ​can ​with ​their ​efforts ​and ​work ​really ​hard ​to ​make ​sure ​that ​we ​have ​another ​good ​team,” Cash said in his media availability Tuesday at the Winter Meetings in Nashville.

It’s something that the Rays manager says he’s been able to witness first-hand since he was hired in the 2014 offseason.

“When ​a ​new ​manager ​comes ​in, ​​there’s ​something ​that ​went ​really ​sideways,” Cash said.  “​I ​was ​fortunate ​enough ​that ​the ​structure ​was ​really ​in place. ​Andrew ​[Friedman] and ​Joe [Maddon] ​had ​left, ​but ​there ​were ​a ​lot ​of ​really ​good ​people ​working ​the ​roster. ​The farm director [and] ​the ​farm ​system ​were ​all ​in ​good ​spots, ​and ​they’ve ​only ​continued ​to ​get ​better.”

Other items of note from Cash’s interview

• Pitcher Jeffrey Springs, recovering from Tommy John surgery, is throwing at Tropicana Field already.  Cash says he’s “bebopping in the clubhouse and the training room,” so his attitude in the rehab is good.  He is still expected to be ready to return sometime in the middle of the 2024 season.
• Infielder Taylor Walls, who had surgery to repair a torn labrum in his hip, is expected to come to St. Petersburg around the start of the new year so that head athletic trainer Joe Benge and his staff can manage his rehab.  Cash said the expectation currently is that the 27-year-old will be ready to start the season.
• A young reporter asked Cash is there’s a question he wished he was asked more, and leave it to the Rays manager to give a very Cash-like answer: “How’d it feel to win the World Series?”