Could Kevin Cash Leave The Rays After 2025?

This offseason, Craig Counsell gave the hot stove an early burn by shockingly departing his hometown Brewers for the Chicago Cubs. With Counsell’s departure, you can’t help but wonder what the future will be for other managers. One manager worth paying attention to is Tampa Bay Rays skipper Kevin Cash. He has one year left with an option for 2025 on an extension he signed with the team in 2018. Given the contract Counsell signed and the opportunity to manage in a better market, I believe Kevin Cash could depart the Rays after 2025.

Kevin Cash Has Had A Better Career Then Craig Counsell

Kevin Cash has had a better career than Counsell. He’s got a career record of 735-617 since becoming the Rays manager. After guiding the Rays through four tough years, Tampa has since won two AL East titles, one pennant, and appeared in the postseason the last five seasons in a row. Cash has also been the AL Manager of the Year twice and has been nominated three other times as well. The amazing part is that he’s been able to have all this success despite losing key players every year.

The Rays Hardly Spend Money

The Rays are notoriously frugal and spend even less money than the Milwaukee Brewers. The only team Tampa outspent in 2023 was the Oakland Athletics. Last offseason, Zach Eflin became the largest free agent signing in team history when he agreed to a three-year $40 million deal. Most of the time, Tampa ends up either trading or letting their star players go to free agency. Heck, the players union has even filed grievances against the team due to concerns about their payroll.

Tampa also hasn’t won a playoff series since 2020 and that was during the COVID-19-shortened season. In the last three years, Tampa Bay has been unable to make it out of the early rounds of the playoffs. For the past two years, Tampa Bay has been swept right out of the wild card round. At one point, the Rays had gone 34 innings in a row where they failed to score a run in the postseason. While injuries and other issues haven’t helped; Tampa’s unwillingness to spend has made it difficult for them to compete with higher-spending teams in the postseason.

Rumors Have Begun To Swirl

Before Stephen Vogt was hired, rumors were connecting Cash to the Cleveland Guardians’ open managerial job. Cash had been Cleveland’s bullpen coach under then-manager Terry Francona. Before becoming the Rays manager, many people viewed Kevin Cash as Francona’s successor. However, Cash shut down the rumors in large part due to still being under contract. If the Guardians truly wanted to talk to Cash they would have to get permission from the Rays. Unless Cash signs another long-term deal with Tampa, the rumors are only going to persist.

Cash Has All The Leverage If He Leaves

Craig Counsell recently became the highest-paid manager in baseball and has reset the market. When Cash’s contract expires, he could potentially command almost what Counsell is making now if not more. The Rays will more than likely pick up his option to keep him in Tampa Bay for at least the 2025 season. However, beyond 2025 is up to Cash. Given what Counsell is making and everything Cash has accomplished; he’d be foolish not to at least explore other clubs who have much better resources than the Rays. Those teams are going to give out a blank check to land a manager as accomplished as Kevin Cash.

The small groups of Rays fans that are out there will automatically say that he’ll never leave for another job. However, these people probably said the same thing before Joe Maddon leaving before the 2015 season. Meanwhile, Brewers fans thought that Craig Counsell would stay forever with him being from the area and his deep connection to the team. Given what Counsell did this offseason, the Rays can’t rule out Kevin Cash leaving for another franchise as a possibility.

Cash Has A Better Chance At Winning The World Series Elsewhere

Every manager wants a chance to win a World Series. Managing a team like the Rays makes this difficult to accomplish. If Cash were to leave the Rays, he’d have no shortage of franchises looking to hire a manager of his pedigree. While he has accomplished more than most in Tampa, it’s hard not to wonder just how good his teams would be if they spent money. I am sure that managing a team for a cheap ownership group gets annoying at times. Given what happened with Craig Counsell this offseason, nothing can be ruled out when it comes to his future.

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