The Tampa Bay Rays, the only MLB team without a manager, said they wanted to name their replacement for Joe Maddon before baseball's Winter Meetings. They barely made it.
Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal is reporting that the Rays have chosen Kevin Cash to be their new skipper. He'll now be the youngest manager in MLB (he turns 37 on Saturday) after beating out Don Wakamatsu for the Rays' job. Raul Ibanez was the team's third finalist, but he pulled out of the running before his final interview.
The Rays haven't made the hire official, but they're sure to by the time the Winter Meetings start Monday.
Cash is looked at as a rising star within coaching circles. He played eight seasons in MLB with the Red Sox, Blue Jays, Yankees, Astros and Rays (he knows the AL East, obviously). Cash was a back-up catcher, never playing more than 61 games in a season. He was a lifetime .183 hitter. But he's not getting hired for his stats as a player.
After he retired in 2010, Cash joined Terry Francona's staff with the Indians as bullpen coach. Then he quickly became a hot commodity. He was the runner-up for the Texas Rangers job earlier this year. But he wouldn't be a runner-up again.
Cash brings ties to the job beyond his 2005 season with the Rays. He was born in Tampa and played baseball at Florida State. It won't be easy to replace Joe Maddon, but it sounds like Tampa could learn to love Cash.
More MLB coverage from Yahoo Sports:
- - - - - - -
Mike Oz is an editor for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at mikeozstew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @MikeOz
from Yahoo Sports http://ift.tt/1zvxk2b
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire