Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash was named a finalist for the American League Manager of the Year award on Monday.
Cash is a finalist alongside Brandon Hyde (Orioles) and Bruce Bochy (Rangers).
This is the fifth time in the last six years that Cash has been a finalist. He won the award back in 2020 when he led the Rays to a World Series appearance.
It's not likely that Cash will win, given that Bochy led the Rangers to a massive turnaround and an eventual World Series title - and since Hyde actually led the O's to a division title.
Despite that, it was a remarkable year for Cash and the Rays. The team got out to a blistering start this season and ended up winning 99 games, despite dealing with a rash of serious issues and injuries.
The team ended up losing pitchers Drew Rasmussen and Jeffrey Springs for the season to injuries, as well as ace Shane McClanahan. They didn't have Tyler Glasnow for a large portion of the year, either, and then were forced to play without superstar Wander Franco for more than a month, as he's under MLB investigation.
Cash navigated all of these situations and led the Rays to the playoffs again, where they were swept by the Rangers in the AL wild card round.
There had been rumors that Cash could be interested in leaving Tampa for the Cleveland Guardians job, but he rejected the notion. Cleveland eventually hired Stephen Vogt as its manager.
The Manager of the Year award will be given out on November 14.
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