Tommy Watkins will manage 2017 Cedar Rapids Kernels

CEDAR RAPIDS — One man's opportunity has created an opportunity for two more.

The parent Minnesota Twins announced late Monday afternoon that Tommy Watkins will be manager of the 2017 Cedar Rapids Kernels. This will be his first managerial job.

Jake Mauer, who led the Kernels to Midwest League playoff berths the previous four years, has been promoted to skipper Double-A Chattanooga. The announcements come on the heels of the Twins promoting longtime minor-league manager Jeff Smith to the big-league staff.

'I'm excited,' Watkins said Monday night. 'I've got big shoes to fill, obviously, with Jake, but I'm pumped. A little bit nervous, too.'

Known for his kind demeanor and effervescent personality, Watkins was C.R.'s hitting coach under Mauer from 2013 to 2015. Former teammates in the Twins system, the two have long been friends, with Watkins serving as a groomsman in Mauer's wedding.

This past season, Watkins was Chattanooga's hitting coach under Manager Doug Mientkiewicz. Mientkiewicz has been assigned to high-A Fort Myers for 2017.

Mike Quade will be the Triple-A manager at Rochester. Full coaching staffs for all Twins affiliates will be announced at a later date, as Smith's promotion to Minnesota and the retirement of Fort Myers hitting coach Jim Dwyer has created two openings in the minor-league system.

'I have learned a lot from the guys I have coached under, the guys I played under,' said Watkins. 'Doug Mientkiewicz taught me so much last year. With Jake, he always let his staff do their jobs. He never looked down on you.'

Watkins, 36, was a 38th-round draft pick of the Twins in 1998, out of a high school in Fort Myers. He spent 12 seasons as an infielder in the system, getting into nine games at the big-league level in 2007.

This will be his eighth season with the Twins on the coaching side.

'(Managing) is always something I have wanted to do,' Watkins said.

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