Rays hire Kevin Cash as manager

The Tampa Bay Rays have hired Kevin Cash as the fifth manager of their ball club, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. They have since announced the deal.

President of baseball operations Matthew Silverman issued this statement on the hiring of Cash:

“Kevin is passionate, genuine and dedicated, and those attributes will resonate throughout our clubhouse. As a catcher, a scout and a coach, he has always been a student of the game, and his communication and tireless work will put our club in a position to win, night in and night out.”

Cash beat out the two other finalists, Raul Ibanez and Don Wakamatsu, for the job. Ibanez had reportedly removed himself from the running earlier this week. The manager opening came after Joe Maddon opted-out of his contract earlier this offseason when GM Andrew Friedman left for the Dodgers.

Cash, who turns 37 tomorrow, served as an advanced scout for the Blue Jays during the 2012 season. In 2013, Cash joined the Indians staff under Terry Francona as their bullpen coach. Cash was also a finalist for the Rangers' manager job, but was beat out by Jeff Banister, as he was the runner-up, reported Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports. 

The eight-year MLB veteran Cash posted a .183/.248/.278 line with 12 homers and 58 runs batted in with the Red Sox, Astros, Yankees, Rays, and Blue Jays. He retired in 2012.