Wed - 21 May
Written by Jim Ecker
Cedar Rapids Kernels Manager Jake Mauer has learned to live with lossesĀ like Wednesday night's 9-4 setback to the Beloit Snappers, but it's what happened the day before that gave him a sleepless night.
Mauer had to tell catcher Bryan "BK" Santy and infielder Carlos Avila after Tuesday night's game that the Minnesota Twins organization had decided to give them their outright release from baseball.
Mauer has delivered bad news like that behind closed doors before, but that doesn't make it any easier.
"It's the worst part of the job, by far," he said after Wednesday's loss in the series finale before 1,886 fans at Veterans Memorial Stadium. "Santy and Avila played hard for us. They worked hard and did everything you asked. Sometimes it turns into a numbers game."
Santy, 23, joined the club April 18 after catcher Michael Quesada got hurt. Avila, 24, was summoned to Cedar Rapids May 14 as a replacement player.
The guys they replaced are healthy now, and the Kernels needed room on their roster when they decided to activate Jason Kanzler and Engelb Vielma from the Disabled List Wednesday.
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