Tampa Bay Rays and Manager Kevin Cash Look Forward to Better 2016 Season

In his first season as Tampa Bay Rays manager, and his first season as a manager period, Kevin Cash managed a patchwork Rays team to an 80-82 record in the American League East. One must consider, he did that with a team that had numerous injuries to both the position players and his starting staff. Now, with the 6 player swap recently consummated with the Seattle Mariners, and a very strong existing roster, the Rays look forward to a better 2016.

If there is a possible blessing to the adversity the Rays faced last year, it was that they were able to get a look at what their organization was made of. Outfielder Mikie Mahtook was brought up because of injuries to Desmond Jennings, Stephen Souza and an over reliance on the super-human Kevin Kiermaier. Mahtook responded by stating he wasn't going back to triple-A, not vocally but with his bat. Mahtook hit 9 home runs in 105 at-bats while showing he could sometimes spell Kiermaier in centerfield.

Then, there is the guys the Rays got from Seattle. In an article on TampaBay.com, Rays beat writer Marc Topkin had a sit down with GM and head of baseball operations Matt Silverman about the recent trade with Seattle. About the centerpiece, Brad Miller, Silverman had this to say, "We've liked him for a while. We've been impressed by his work at shortstop, and it's always a plus to have a left-handed-hitting middle infielder. We'll take him and the many other guys we have and head into spring training feeling good about our situation in the middle infield."

The Rays fans will always love Ben Zobrist but Logan Forsythe made major strides last year to help in the grieving process. The Rays' second baseman nearly mirrored Evan Longoria in every offensive statistic, while providing stellar defense and range at second. The Rays fans will miss Ben but they won't be pining for his resturn, not if Forsythe plays the way he did in 2015. If not, the former Seattle Mariner double play tandem of Nick Franklin and Brad Miller provide Kevin Cash with a significant amount of flexibility.

Another discovery was Curt Casali and his stick. With the Rays looking for offense, many were pleasantly surprised that they may not have to look any further than their own backyard. Casali popped 10 home runs in 101 at-bats, all the while proving he was no slouch behind the plate either.

Another potential key pick up in the Seattle trade was Logan Morrison. Slotted for the DH, at least until James Loney and his $8 million dollar salary are moved, the enigmatic Morrison can also be slotted in at 1st. Richie Shaffer, another product of the myriad of injuries last year, came up and looked very comfortable. He could takeover at 1st as well.

It's still early but 2016 is looking good for the Tampa Bay Rays. Stay tuned.