Jose Salas burns his old team as Cedar Rapids Kernels beat Beloit

CEDAR RAPIDS — It’s not weird for Jose Salas to play baseball against his old team, his old organization. It never has been.

Especially when he beats them.

The Cedar Rapids Kernels infielder-outfielder drove in the go-ahead run with a double in the bottom of the eighth inning Wednesday afternoon as his new team beat Beloit, 8-6, at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

Salas was part of a trade in January 2023 that saw him go from the Miami Marlins to the Minnesota Twins. Major-league starting pitcher Pablo Lopez and minor-league outfielder Byron Chourio also went to Minnesota in exchange for multiple-time big-league batting champ Luis Arraez.

Salas played part of the 2022 minor-league season with Beloit. He played last season with the Kernels, so seeing familiar faces in the other dugout isn’t exactly a new thing.

“I feel comfortable playing against those guys because I know a lot of them. And a lot of the coaching staff,” Salas said. “So every time I get to see them, it brings back good memories, all the good times I had with them. Being able to joke around with them, just do what boys do. Play around and joke around and play around with those guys is fun.”

The 21-year-old switch hitter had an RBI double to left-center field to open the scoring in the second inning, then came to plate with teammates on second and third with one out in the eighth. He sliced a pitch back to left-center and just under the glove of diving Beloit center fielder Mark Coley II to make it a 6-5 game.

Salas eventually alertly scooted home himself from second base with two outs when Payton Eeles of the Kernels hit a ball up the middle that Beloit shortstop Johnny Olmstead fielded, only to slip to the ground on the outfield grass as he was about to attempt a throw to first.

“I was just trying to get a pitch that I could send somewhere in the outfield to bring that run in. It’s probably that simple,” Salas said. “All I was really trying to do was get a pitch that I could handle and make sure that run gets in somehow, someway.”

Signed out of Venezuela with the Marlins as a 16-year-old in 2019 for a bonus of $2.9 million, he primarily has been a middle infielder but also has played third base with the Kernels and all three outfield spots, including center field Wednesday.

That’s six positions in one season. Get the kid a first baseman’s mitt and a catcher’s glove, for crying out loud.

He can borrow that latter glove from younger brother, Ethan, who is in the San Diego Padres organization with Fort Wayne of the Midwest League and considered perhaps the top catching prospect in the game.

“I feel really good playing all these positions now,” Salas said. “Not a lot of guys can say they can play that many positions. Dink came up to me and asked ‘Hey, do you think you can play some outfield?’ I was like ‘Yeah, whatever you need me to do, I’ll do.’ Fortunate to be able to play all these positions at one time. And have fun doing it.”

“Dink” is Kernels Manager Brian Dinkelman, and he approached Salas over a month ago to see if he was willing to try the outfield. The Kernels had a glut of infielders at the time but were rather low on outfielders.

“It was a little necessity and also his athleticism,” Dinkelman said. “He said he’d played some outfield in winter ball, so it wasn’t completely foreign to him. Give him an opportunity, add more versatility to his game. He’s been fine out there ... He hasn’t hurt us at all, for sure.”

The Kernels improved to 40-29 and 3-2 in the Midwest League’s second half with the win. The teams have split the first two games of their six-game series, with game three coming Thursday night at 6:35.

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