Neander becomes two-time Executive of the Year winner

The day they were introduced as leaders of the Rays’ new ownership group, managing partner Patrick Zalupski, co-chair Bill Cosgrove and CEO Ken Babby made a promise.

Well, really, they established a rule.

“None of us, and none of the partners, are allowed to talk to, or have any influence on, baseball operations,” Zalupski said last October, smiling.

Added Cosgrove: “Zero.” Later, Babby succinctly summarized their roster-building and team-running philosophy: “In Erik and Kevin we trust.”

As in Erik Neander, the Rays’ president of baseball operations, and Kevin Cash, the longest-tenured manager in the Majors.

Neander and Cash had earned that trust, of course, and they rewarded it this year by leading the Rays to an unexpected division title, the best record in the American League and the franchise’s third pennant.

• All-time Executive of the Year Award winners

Cash’s culture-setting presence and tactical acumen were recognized on Tuesday night, when he finished second in the AL Manager of the Year Award voting. Wednesday night was Neander’s turn to bring home the hardware, as he received the Executive of the Year Award presented by Sage during the MLB Awards presented by MGM Rewards at the Chelsea Theater at the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas.

The Executive of the Year Award is considered a particularly prestigious honor because it is decided by a vote of executives from all 30 teams. And this is the second time Neander has received the honor, having previously done so in 2019.

Perhaps fittingly, only two people have been named Executive of the Year twice since MLB instituted the award in 2018: Neander and Brewers president of baseball operations Matt Arnold, a friend and former Rays executive whose Milwaukee club beat Neander’s Tampa Bay squad in the World Series.

As many executives in Tampa Bay’s front office have come and gone, including top officials like Andrew Friedman (Dodgers), Chaim Bloom (Cardinals), Peter Bendix (Marlins) and Arnold, Neander has remained.

The Rays have overcome that annual exodus of executives and coaches, spreading the Rays’ way throughout the game, thanks in large part to the way Neander fosters a strong culture, promotes from within and empowers his staff.

That’s how Neander got here, after all. He joined the Rays on a four-month baseball operations internship in January 2007 and hasn’t left, ascending all the way to his current role leading a massive department that makes the Rays a perennial contender despite a daunting division and one of the sport’s lowest payrolls.

“There's no organization that I'd rather work for than this one, and it has so much to do with the people that are here, their love of this game, their love of this organization and the belief that we can win here,” Neander told MLB.com just before the World Series began. “Each win here, whenever they take place – a regular-season win to a run like this – the satisfaction that comes with it is just far greater than I think it would be anywhere else.”

This past season was some of their finest work. Widely picked to finish last in the AL East, projections that Neander shot down in a rare preseason clubhouse speech in St. Louis, the Rays spent most of the season atop the AL standings.

There might not have been a more impactful free-agent signing last offseason than Neander inking veteran starter and clubhouse leader Nick Martinez to a one-year deal in mid February. The Rays are also as bold and aggressive on the trade market as any team in the sport, and you can look to this year’s team for proof.

Star slugger Junior Caminero, All-Star leadoff man Yandy Díaz, ace Drew Rasmussen, All-Star closer Bryan Baker and reliever-turned-starter Griffin Jax were only a few of the key contributors who joined the Rays in trades.

The Rays do the small things well, like signing lefty reliever Cam Booser to a Minor League deal, acquiring outfielder Ryan Vilade for cash at the beginning of the offseason or getting outfielder Victor Mesa Jr. in another under-the-radar trade just before Spring Training. Infielder Ben Williamson, who had the walk-off single in Game 4 of the Fall Classic, came over in one of Neander’s many three-team deals.

In addition to everything that’s gone right in the Majors, the Rays have one of the best Minor League systems -- and almost certainly the deepest -- in the game, due in part to several difficult trades Neander made during consecutive middling seasons in 2024-25.

But Neander also issued a reminder at the Trade Deadline that the Rays can be aggressive in pursuit of game-changing talent. They surrendered as much prospect capital as anyone to land starter Freddy Peralta (who they quickly helped get right after a disastrous stint with the Mets), cleanup-hitting catcher Liam Hicks and setup man Tyler Wells.

Look, his bosses trust him for a reason.