It’s a doubleheader split with Quad Cities for the new-look Cedar Rapids Kernels

CEDAR RAPIDS — Hello, my name is ...

Eduardo Tait.

Jefferson Valladares.

Dasan Hill.

Adrian Bohorquez.

Ruddy Gomez.

Add another seven names in there, and you’ve got the new guys on the current active roster of the Cedar Rapids Kernels. There were 27 guys on it for Wednesday afternoon’s doubleheader against Quad Cities at Veterans Memorial Stadium, 12 of whom weren’t on it the last time the Kernels had a homestand two weeks ago.

There is change, and then there is CHANGE.

“It’s been hectic,” said Kernels Manager Brian Meyer, whose club won the first game, 3-0, and lost the second game, 9-3. “We’re just trying to keep the guys going who have been here. Then you’re trying to re-establish the clubhouse and guys fitting in with each other. Guys’ lives have been picked up and moved, so it’s an adjustment period for them. We’re trying to figure out who can do what.”

This much movement this late in the minor league baseball season is unusual, but there are reasons for it.

First and foremost are injuries. Cedar Rapids has had a ton of them all spring and summer, with 14 on the injured list, including key position players Billy Amick, Khadim Diaw, and Andy Lugo.

Poor Diaw sat out two-plus months after breaking his thumb in late May, then tore his hamstring running to first base in just his second at-bat upon finally returning last week. There are 10 pitchers on the IL, too, with lefty reliever Samuel Perez the latest to be placed there Monday.

“From a pitching standpoint, you’re throwing guys into situations and seeing how they handle it,” Meyer said. “You’re just trying to find out what you have.”

Most of the replacements have come from low-Class A Fort Myers, though the Kernels picked up pitchers Garrett Horn and Matt Mikulas in trades the parent Minnesota Twins made at the MLB deadline a week and a half ago. Horn came over from the Texas Rangers organization, Mikulas from the Houston Astros in the shocking Carlos Correa trade.

Thus far, the Kernels have not been sent any 2025 Twins draft picks, though catcher Luis Hernandez was signed after the draft as a free agent out of LSU.

“It’s a little different than in Fort Myers when you have the draft guys,” said Meyer, who skippered the Mighty Mussels prior to coming to Cedar Rapids. “They come in together. Realistically these guys are coming in together, too, but they’re coming from different places. A lot of new personalities and getting to know them. Trying to build relationships with them. It’s similar in that regard. But it’s definitely been new.”

Perhaps not surprisingly, the Kernels went 3-9 on a 12-game road trip to Lansing and West Michigan the previous two weeks. They broke a seven-game losing streak Tuesday night with a 5-2 win over Quad Cities.

The good news is Cedar Rapids (61-49 overall, 21-23 in the second half) already has secured a Midwest League playoff spot via a Western Division first-half championship. Try and find the right mix down the stretch here and know that anything can happen in a short postseason series.

Former University of Iowa pitch Ty Langenberg threw a three-hit shutout in Game 1, the seven innings marking his longest professional outing. The right-hander walked two and struck out seven.

The teams play again Thursday night at 6:35.

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