Rays hire manager

Cash to take over

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Tampa Bay Rays aren't wary of Kevin Cash's age and inexperience.

The team tabbed the former Cleveland Indians bullpen coach as Joe Maddon's replacement on Friday, selecting him over ex-Seattle Mariners manager and current Kansas City Royals bench coach Don Wakamatsu.

The Tampa native who turns 37 today has no previous managerial experience, yet the Rays are confident he has what it takes to be successful.

"It came down to the energy, the poise that he has, the confidence, but the open-mindedness that goes along with it. That's a rare combination to have in an individual," president of baseball operations Matt Silverman said.

Cash wowed the team during a final interview that lasted half a day. He becomes the youngest active manager in the majors, taking over a team that made the playoffs four of the past seven seasons under Maddon.

"After 12 hours we were pretty drained and it felt like Kevin was just getting started," Silverman said.

A former catcher who played with five major league teams, including 13 games for Tampa Bay in 2005, Cash served as Terry Francona's bullpen coach in Cleveland the past two seasons.

He also interviewed recently for the vacant managerial position with the Texas Rangers. He thought that experience helped when the Rays included him on an initial list of 10 candidates.

"It wasn't something I was anticipating at this stage. But as I started preparing for the Texas opportunity, I almost kind of gained momentum, gained some confidence," Cash said. "I was able to really process some thoughts."

Tampa Bay went 754-705 in nine seasons under Maddon, making the playoffs four times, winning two AL East championships and the 2008 AL pennant - all while operating under the constraints of one of baseball's lowest payrolls.

The Rays finished 77-85 this year, ending a stretch of six consecutive winning seasons. Maddon was under contract through 2015, but exercised an option to leave when talks on a new deal broke down and joined the Chicago Cubs.

"The voice is obviously probably going to change a little bit, but the players and the personnel, and the culture, what they created, that is something that I'm extremely fortunate to be a part of and join in on," Cash said.

The new manager inherits a roster driven by one of the best pitching staffs in the American League. Most of his coaching staff will be comprised of holdovers from Maddon's reign.

"When it got down to it, the security of our situation with our staff in place, and the clubhouse culture that we have, gave us more comfort," Silverman said.

"But, you look at Kevin, his baseball age is much older than his 37 years on this planet," Silverman added. "He's been a student of the game, and that transition to manager is one we think will be a relatively (smooth) one, one made easier by the environment that we already have here."

Maddon opted out of his contract Oct. 24 and was hired to manage the Cubs.