Kevin Cash’s Deal With Rays Is For Five Years

The Rays gave new manager Kevin Cash a good bit of security in his first contract, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports. His deal is for five years, tying him with former Rays and current Cubs skipper Joe Maddon for the lengthiest remaining guarantee in the game.

Cash, 37, is also the youngest big league manager. Obviously, he will not approach Maddon’s reported $25MM in earnings over their identical five-year terms, though his precise salary is yet to be reported.

Tampa’s investment in Cash represents a strong vote of confidence in his ability to mesh not only with the organization’s players but also its front office, which is now headed by Matt Silverman. Though Silverman declined to comment on the term of the contract, he did offer some insight to Heyman as to why the team would be comfortable with that level of commitment: “Kevin is a great communicator. He has a keen baseball mind. He’s the kind of guy who can be on the forefront of the changes in the game for years to come.”