Like everyone in the baseball world, Rays manager Kevin Cash is glued to his phone, waiting to see what happens in the negotiations between Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association.

Cash said he's "excited and optimistic" about a season potentially being played this year, but he understands there are still financial and logistical issues to work through. But while Cash -- and the rest of the world -- waits, he and his staff have already begun having discussions on how to get the club ready for a potential season.

"We are fully prepared whenever that [news] comes," Cash said. "We're confident that we will have plenty of time to get our guys in shape. We're currently discussing many different options and considering things that will help us when that re-entry protocol takes place."

If the two sides come to an agreement, it's possible that the club would have a couple of weeks to get ready. You could even call it a Spring Training 2.0. If that ends up happening, Cash said the emphasis would certainly be on the pitching staff, since the unit is usually the one that takes the longest to ramp up during a traditional spring camp.

Cash said pitching coach Kyle Snyder and bullpen coach Stan Boroski have asked the pitchers to keep their arms in shape, so they can really begin to get ready when or if a deal gets done over the next couple of weeks.

"We've basically asked guys to play catch a couple times a week, and I think for the most part guys have been able to accomplish that," Cash said. "I know some pitchers throughout baseball have continued to throw bullpen [sessions], and that's fine. We feel that we will have ample time to get our guys built up."

One of the challenges, however, will be protecting pitchers from trying to build up too quickly. The process might be slightly accelerated, but the club's priority will remain the pitchers' long-term health.

"We will prioritize their arm health over everything else," Cash said. "It will not be a rush job to get guys built up to seven innings, we just won't do that. We prioritize our pitching so much and we think that's the way to go about it.

"I think the fair challenge to all of it is it's going to be different. It's going to be something out of our comfort zone, that we all ultimately just have to do and we're going to do. If they can come to an agreement, we will be accommodating to whatever situation is thrown at us."

In the case that rosters are expanded in order to ease the stress of a shortened Spring Training, players like Randy Arozarena, Brian O'Grady, Peter Fairbanks, Jalen Beeks and Brendan McKay would benefit from it.

Non-roster invitees such as Kevan Smith, Chris Herrmann and Aaron Loup could also give the Rays some added depth. Same goes for prospects Vidal Brujan, Shane McClanahan, Joe Ryan and even MLB Pipeline's No. 1 prospect Wander Franco.

For Cash, however, those are conversations that he plans on having whenever a decision on the season has been made.

"I'm hoping we get to have those conversations really soon in the near future," Cash said. "There has been so much back-and-forth with MLB or us connecting with players and staff, that we have not gotten in detail on different in-game strategies. And I think before we start doing that, we need to hear some sort of definitive on what rosters are going to look like, what are the exact parameters of the rules and how you can carry your roster. I think it would be wise for us to wait for that to come out before we jump into conclusions."

There are still so many different possibilities about what a potential season could look like. There's been a lot of speculation. But for Cash and the Rays, they're starting to gear up for a possible season.

"I talked to about eight [players] yesterday," Cash said. "The players I've spoken with, they consistently show the champing at the bit and the mentality of being ready to go."