Mauer returns as Cedar Rapids manager
Cedar Rapids, Iowa - The Cedar Rapids Kernels, in conjunction with the Minnesota Twins, announce their field staff for the 2015 season.
Jake Mauer returns as the Kernels manager for 2015. He begins his eighth season as a manager in the Twins organization and his third season as the Kernels manager. He was the 23rd round pick of the Twins in the 2001 Draft and played five seasons in the Twins system, including 84 games in the Midwest League for Quad Cities. He is the brother of Twins catcher, Joe Mauer, and attended the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. He resides in Shoreview, Minnesota with his wife, Rachel, and three children.
Henry Bonilla is the Kernels pitching coach for 2015 after serving as the pitching coach at Elizabethton in 2014. This is his fourth season as a coach at the professional level and he has also served as the pitching coach for the GCL Twins. He was selected in the eighth round of the 2000 Draft by the Twins out of Tulane University and played in the 2001 MWL All-Star Game for Quad Cities and was later named to the MWL Postseason All-Star Team. He pitched 10 seasons in the Minors (2000-09) including seven with the Twins (2000-06) finishing with a 61-71 record and 4.66 ERA in 342 games with 38 saves. He is a native of San Salvador, El Salvador, was a 1996 graduate of Galena High School in Reno, Nevada and resides in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Tommy Watkins begins his sixth season as a coach at the professional level and third season as the Kernels hitting coach. He was selected by the Twins in the 38th round of the 1998 Draft out of Riverdale High School in Florida and played 12 seasons in the Twins organization, including nine games for the Twins in 2007, primarily at third base. He played 78 games for Quad Cities in 2001 and has a career .248 average with 31 HR and 290 RBI in 959 Minor League games. He resides in Fort Myers, Florida.
Curtis Simondet returns for his second season as the Kernels trainer. He was the trainer for the Elizabethton Twins in 2013 and prior to that, he was the trainer for the GCL Twins for two seasons.