This new Rays coach wowed Kevin Cash with his cooking

This story was excerpted from Adam Berry’s Rays Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox. This Rays Beat newsletter was written by Joe Trezza, who's filling in for Adam Berry in Spring Training.

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Kevin Cash is eating well this spring, and he has his new third-base coach to thank for that. Before he’s had the chance to wave anybody home, Brady Williams is already proving an invaluable housemate.

Just ask his boss.

“He’s the best cook in camp,” said Cash, who shared a house with Williams and several other coaches during the Rays’ two-week stay in Disney’s Wide World of Sports complex before the club relocated to St. Petersburg for the remainder of Spring Training.

One of the most accomplished Triple-A managers in team history, Williams joined Tampa Bay’s staff this winter after three standout seasons spearheading Triple-A Durham.

He arrived with a secret talent, and now Cash’s appetite is cashing in.

“We’ve had sea bass, we’ve had tuna, we’ve had salmon, we’ve done steaks,” Cash said. “And he’s really into the presentation. You’re not going up there and [just] getting your plate.

"The plates are perfect. It’s the fish, the spinach underneath it. Then the polenta or the rice or mashed potatoes underneath it, and it’s drizzled with sauce. It’s very impressive.”

Does the skipper contribute at all in the kitchen?

“I do the dishes … enough,” Cash said. “We try to get [new Triple-A manager] Michael Johns to do it, but he goes to sleep."