Kevin Cash, Erik Neander sign extensions with Rays

The Tampa Bay Rays are one of the most well-run and efficient organizations in sports, and just extended two of the masterminds behind their success. 

The team announced Thursday that manager Kevin Cash and president of baseball operations Erik Neander had each agreed to contract extensions. 

"I believe there are none better in baseball," Rays principal owner Stuart Sternberg said. "What we've all accomplished together has been remarkable, and the best is yet to come." 

Mark Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reported that the terms of the deals are not yet available, but they will both "carry into and beyond the team’s planned 2028 move into a new St. Petersburg stadium."

Cash was entering the final guaranteed year of his contract, with a team option for 2025. Neander had previously agreed to a contract extension that went through the 2026 season. 

Since joining the Rays in in 2015, Cash has established himself as one of the game's premiere tacticians. He has compiled a 739-617 regular season record, led the Rays to five straight postseason berths, including a World Series appearance in 2020, and won back-to-back American League Manager of the Year Awards in 2020 and 2021. 

Neander has been with the Rays since he joined the organization as an intern in 2007. He was named vice president of baseball operations in 2014 after former Rays president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman left for the Dodgers, then was promoted again to general manager in 2016 and took over as president in 2017. 

The Rays have had a bottom-five payroll every season since Neander took control in 2017. Despite that, and near constant roster turnover, they've still been able to be one of baseball's most consistent teams. 

Whether its revolutionizing the sport by being the first to regularly implement openers in 2018, consistently having one of the top farm systems or making shrewd trades, the Rays continue to out-perform expectations by maximizing their talent at a minimal cost. 

This offseason, the Rays traded pitcher Tyler Glasnow and outfielder Manuel Margot to the Dodgers for pitcher Ryan Pepiot and outfielder Jonny DeLuca. Both Pepiot and DeLuca are younger and cheaper than Glasnow and Margot and have the potential to replace a majority of their production. The Rays also recently signed reliever Phil Maton to a one-year, $6.5 million contract.

With Cash and Neander at the helm, the Rays will once again be one of the favorites to make the postseason in 2024 and come out on top in a loaded AL East.