Why on Earth Won't the Twins Move Edouard Julien to First Base?

[Matthew Taylor]

Edouard Julien is now more than 65 games into his MLB career. Despite Julien’s poor defense at second base, and the Twins’ continuously poor offense, the Twins inexplicably refuse to try the rookie at first base.

Image courtesy of Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports

Edouard Julien has been better than anyone could have expected him to be at the plate in his rookie season with the Minnesota Twins. Through his first 67 games with the Twins, Julien is slashing .286/.377/.490 (.867) with 22 extra-base hits.

Where Julien has not excelled, though, has been on the defensive side of the ball. Upon his call up to the majors, Julien was viewed as a poor defender at second base, and even those poor projections underestimated just how big of a struggle the position has been for the rookie.

Julien currently ranks in the 15th percentile in Outs Above Average with -5 defensive runs saved at second base. The Canadian has unfortunately shown that he is extremely stretched at second and lacks the range and twitchiness to succeed there.

Julien’s struggles at second base, especially now with Jorge Polanco back from injury, have put the Twins in a difficult spot. Polanco has not proven to be as solid at third base as he is at second base, but in order to keep Julien’s bat in the lineup, their choices are to use the designated hitter spot on Polanco or Julien, or play with a far-below average defensive alignment with Polanco at third and Julien at second.

The pickle that the Twins have found themselves in will only prove more challenging once Royce Lewis returns to the lineup in the coming week. Once Lewis comes back and overtakes the third base position, the Twins will have no choice but to play one of Jorge Polanco or Edouard Julien at designated hitter every day. (And soon after, Byron Buxton will return and make the situation even more complex.)

There is one easy way for the Twins to fix the issue that they’re having in their defensive alignment, however it’s a defensive move that the Twins have refused to try out all season — playing Julien at first base.

First base is inherently an easier position to play than second base, as it is five steps below second base on the defensive spectrum. Additionally, Julien does have 181 innings of minor-league experience at the position. Maybe Julien won’t be great at first base, but he certainly hasn’t been good at second base.

Additionally, moving Julien to first base makes a ton of sense because of the poor production that the Twins have been getting from the position, mainly from Joey Gallo. Since Matt Wallner has come on as the everyday starting left fielder for the Twins, Gallo has become the everyday first baseman for the Twins. A problem when he’s struggled so mightily on the season, batting .152 since June 1.

Moving Julien to first base would improve their defense by moving Polanco back to everyday second base, improve their offense by replacing Gallo’s bat with Julien’s, and free up the designated hitter spot for a platoon rotation or Alex Kirilloff when he returns.

Moving Edouard Julien to first base makes all the sense in the world, and it is puzzling that the Twins refuse to make the move, or at least try it.

Do you think the Twins should move Edouard Julien to first base? Leave a comment below and start the conversation!

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[CRF]

For some reason, the Twins seem extremely reluctant to make some of these positional moves, that make a lot sense to us arm-chair managers. Maybe they know better...maybe they don't.

[rv78]

There can be only one reason. They have a worthless Manager.

[Patzky]

2 minutes ago, rv78 said:

There can be only one reason. They have a worthless Manager.

Or if he is poor with the glove he will be poor with the glove at 1st.

[MMMordabito]

August of a rookie's campaign during a playoff chase doesn't stand out to me to be the best time to do this with a defensively challenged player. 

[thelanges5]

Lewis 3B

Polo 2B

Julien 1B

seems like a good idea to me. could’ve been working on this to get ready for Lewis coming back. maybe better for the off season than mid season. 

[Karbo]

If he has that much experience at 1st in the minors I don't understand why they haven't tried it. Maybe he wasn't so good there IDK. I do think they would be wise to move Polo to 1st full time next year. Save the wear and tear on his legs. He is a good athlete and should make the change easily. History shows that the Twins have done this before with positive results.

[Otaknam]

If Julien hasn’t played first in the minors it is risky to experiment in the majors. Remember what happened to Lewis, though outfield has more challenges than first. Also because first is Kiriloff’s best position, and he appears to be above average playing there. 

[Dave The Dastardly]

Your proposal is too logical, therefore not worthy of consideration.

[NotAboutWinning]

Playing 1st base for the Twins right now is not exactly run of the mill. You're either scooping up laser 1 hoppers from Correa, or "anybody's guess where it is going" from Polanco/Lewis. Many times they have used all of Gallo's 6'4" frame. That doesn't sound like a situation you want to throw your best young contact hitter into while he's still adjusting to the majors.

[Patzky]

At the very least, if Julien is at first he won't be catching Julien's tosses from 2nd.

[JD-TWINS]

46 minutes ago, CRF said:

For some reason, the Twins seem extremely reluctant to make some of these positional moves, that make a lot sense to us arm-chair managers. Maybe they know better...maybe they don't.

If he misplays one if CC’s one hoppers from short…….Sonny Gray will lose his mind.

It’s not high school, you don’t just move a guy to first and hope to hide him. It’s not played on paper. I see the 181 innings in minors……20 games. Obviously, he didn’t grade out very well! Picking up ground balls is one basic element - stretch/footwork - handling throws from pitchers with runners on base - cut-offs - feeding pitchers on balls hit to first - scooping errant throws, routinely - etc. One screw-up and the team knows we have a weak spot we shouldn’t have. Morale is sucked away.

Getting him to play 1B so when Kirilloff comes back Kirilloff can DH is the silliest thing I’ve heard on the subject.

Solano is on the roster - mild injury. He’ll be there soon. Kirilloff will be back there in 3 weeks, hopefully………Gallo til then. Obviously, this was probably written for TD prior to Gallo’s one walk/4 hit game Saturday night. 2 HR & 4 RBI.

We’re going to struggle with Julien at 2B until he gets better over next 18 months. IMO Polanco will play 2B v. LH & 30% of the time v. RH. That’s it - Julien will sit some & DH some. Buxton will get a shot at everyday DH but if he struggles, Julien will be there v. RH pitching.

Hope Julien funds a spot in line-up regularly but moving him to 1B in a stretch run to playoffs is not sound move. Once Kirilloff is back we have the same clogged issue with two LH batting 2B - one struggles on D! Kirilloff isn’t displacing Wallner nor Kepler at this point, he’s at 1B.

 

[tarheeltwinsfan]

Kirilloff looks good at 1B. Lewis looks good at 3B. Polo does not look good at 3B. Gallo went 4 for 4 last night with 2 homers. Where did that come from? Where will Lee play next year?  

[tony&rodney]

There seems to be a general trend on Twins Daily that Julien should be playing first base or used as a DH. This naturally begs the question of what to do with Kirilloff and/or Buxton. Maybe one of Kirilloff or Julien should be used in a trade if either Kirilloff or Julien are not going to have a slot in the lineup. 

August is likely not a good time to put a player at a new position. As has been discussed in many previous posts, the Twins have a number of decisions to make going forward about who slots where defensively (Kirilloff, Julien, Polanco, Lewis, Lee, Miranda). Three infield positions are open with six players looking to play full time. I am not including those who may be seen as best used in a utility role (Farmer, Solano, Castro, Gordon, Prato, Martin). Expect a trade or two this offseason. For now, the Twins will play out the schedule in the manner we have seen thus far.

[IndianaTwin]

Perhaps 181 innings at first base in the minors was enough to convince them that playing him there is not a good idea. 

[Fatbat]

Something must not have clicked at 1B during those 180 innings for Julien. The best way to hide his bad Defense is to make him the DH in 8 out of 10 games. When Buxton gets back. Put him in CF. Let him play in a wheelchair if he needs one or just DL buxton for the rest of the year.  We got a large enough sample size that says he sucks at DH. Possible due to injuries or just mentally incapable of focusing on just hitting. Either way, he sucks at it. Julien might just be the guy that excels at just hitting. Gee… thats what a DH is for. Play him there and watch his OPS of .980 climb.

[TwinkieFan4life]

27 minutes ago, JD-TWINS said:

If he misplays one if CC’s one hoppers from short…….Sonny Gray will lose his mind.

It’s not high school, you don’t just move a guy to first and hope to hide him. It’s not played on paper. I see the 181 innings in minors……20 games. Obviously, he didn’t grade out very well! Picking up ground balls is one basic element - stretch/footwork - handling throws from pitchers with runners on base - cut-offs - feeding pitchers on balls hit to first - scooping errant throws, routinely - etc. One screw-up and the team knows we have a weak spot we shouldn’t have. Morale is sucked away.

Getting him to play 1B so when Kirilloff comes back Kirilloff can DH is the silliest thing I’ve heard on the subject.

Solano is on the roster - mild injury. He’ll be there soon. Kirilloff will be back there in 3 weeks, hopefully………Gallo til then. Obviously, this was probably written for TD prior to Gallo’s one walk/4 hit game Saturday night. 2 HR & 4 RBI.

We’re going to struggle with Julien at 2B until he gets better over next 18 months. IMO Polanco will play 2B v. LH & 30% of the time v. RH. That’s it - Julien will sit some & DH some. Buxton will get a shot at everyday DH but if he struggles, Julien will be there v. RH pitching.

Hope Julien funds a spot in line-up regularly but moving him to 1B in a stretch run to playoffs is not sound move. Once Kirilloff is back we have the same clogged issue with two LH batting 2B - one struggles on D! Kirilloff isn’t displacing Wallner nor Kepler at this point, he’s at 1B.

 

I hear you on the difficulty of managing this during a run to the playoffs.  Although it is also not ideal to have people playing who bat 175 and strikeout half the time.  My guess is that Sonny also prefers not to lose 3 to 1 when he is on the mound.  Julien has had a good bat.  I agree that if Kirillof looks like a September return the move probably isn't worth it.  I wonder, for next year, if he could play left field.

[jorgenswest]

Is there an assumption that it takes no skill to play the first base?

A first baseman doesn’t need range or a good arm. They do need a good glove and hands. That soft glove is not in the skill set of every player and you don’t need to throw them out there at 1B to see it.

[DJL44]

If Julien is strictly a DH I'd lean toward trading him for pitching this offseason.

[DJL44]

1 minute ago, jorgenswest said:

Is there an assumption that it takes no skill to play the first base?

It takes less skill than playing 2B. It's hope that they can salvage some defensive value from Julien by playing him at the easiest infield position. If he can't play 1B then he's a 24 year old platoon DH who doesn't hit lefties. That's hard to carry with just 13 roster spots for position players.

Julien is also having a pretty bad August so far (507 OPS). I might consider sending him back to AAA when Lewis returns.

[USAFChief]

11 minutes ago, jorgenswest said:

Is there an assumption that it takes no skill to play the first base?

A first baseman doesn’t need range or a good arm. They do need a good glove and hands. That soft glove is not in the skill set of every player and you don’t need to throw them out there at 1B to see it.

Bingo.

Julien's primary problem defensively is bad hands. 

Bad hands are a problem anywhere, but are particularly damaging at 1st base, where you're handling balls hit to every infielder, not just the ones hit to you.

BTW, I like Julien's bat, and it's probably irrelevant for 2023, but he hasn't proven anything yet offensively long term.

 

[JD-TWINS]

1 hour ago, Karbo said:

If he has that much experience at 1st in the minors I don't understand why they haven't tried it. Maybe he wasn't so good there IDK. I do think they would be wise to move Polo to 1st full time next year. Save the wear and tear on his legs. He is a good athlete and should make the change easily. History shows that the Twins have done this before with positive results.

If Kepler is back - Wallner is back - where does Kirilloff play with Polanco at 1B?

May be Lee at 2B & Julien as DH as well in ‘24.

Personally, I don’t see us picking up Polanco’s option unless we are trading him or Julien. Jorge is banged up too much to have in plans forward…….already have Buxton to deal with on the fragility side. Can’t trade Julien - right?

I think the practical “long play” is to see if Julien can play LF…….ultimately, moving Wallner to RF in ‘25.

[Parfigliano]

51 minutes ago, tony&rodney said:

There seems to be a general trend on Twins Daily that Julien should be playing first base or used as a DH. This naturally begs the question of what to do with Kirilloff and/or Buxton. Maybe one of Kirilloff or Julien should be used in a trade if either Kirilloff or Julien are not going to have a slot in the lineup. 

August is likely not a good time to put a player at a new position. As has been discussed in many previous posts, the Twins have a number of decisions to make going forward about who slots where defensively (Kirilloff, Julien, Polanco, Lewis, Lee, Miranda). Three infield positions are open with six players looking to play full time. I am not including those who may be seen as best used in a utility role (Farmer, Solano, Castro, Gordon, Prato, Martin). Expect a trade or two this offseason. For now, the Twins will play out the schedule in the manner we have seen thus far.

Keep Julien/Kirilloff trade Buxton IF Buxton cant play D.

[Andrew Bryz-Gornia]

1) Julien is far more valuable if he plays 2B. He's still not great there but I'm sure the Twins want him to get more reps in the hopes that he can improve. 

2) I'm sure he'd have been moved to 1B if the Twins thought it was a long-term (rest of season to multiple year) plan. If he's only going to be there until Kirilloff is back, then is it really worth taking away 2B reps?

3) I agree with some others that 180 innings in the minors must have been enough to tell the Twins that he can't handle 1B. Perhaps it's indeed his lack of soft hands. 

Like many other complaints about this year's Twins team, I think the organization's reasoning goes far beyond what we can see on the surface. 

[Andrew Bryz-Gornia]

2 minutes ago, Bigfork Twins Guy said:

Have him work hard in the off season on fielding at 2B and decide if it is improved enough to not pick up Polo's option.  Players in the past (and present like Jeffers) have shown that they can improve defensively with hard work.  Trade either Julian or Polo based on that off season assessment.

Options have to be exercised early in the offseason. The Twins can't use Julien's offseason work to determine whether or not to send Polanco to free agency.

[saviking]

1 hour ago, JD-TWINS said:

If he misplays one if CC’s one hoppers from short…….Sonny Gray will lose his mind.

It’s not high school, you don’t just move a guy to first and hope to hide him. It’s not played on paper. I see the 181 innings in minors……20 games. Obviously, he didn’t grade out very well! Picking up ground balls is one basic element - stretch/footwork - handling throws from pitchers with runners on base - cut-offs - feeding pitchers on balls hit to first - scooping errant throws, routinely - etc. One screw-up and the team knows we have a weak spot we shouldn’t have. Morale is sucked away.

Getting him to play 1B so when Kirilloff comes back Kirilloff can DH is the silliest thing I’ve heard on the subject.

Solano is on the roster - mild injury. He’ll be there soon. Kirilloff will be back there in 3 weeks, hopefully………Gallo til then. Obviously, this was probably written for TD prior to Gallo’s one walk/4 hit game Saturday night. 2 HR & 4 RBI.

We’re going to struggle with Julien at 2B until he gets better over next 18 months. IMO Polanco will play 2B v. LH & 30% of the time v. RH. That’s it - Julien will sit some & DH some. Buxton will get a shot at everyday DH but if he struggles, Julien will be there v. RH pitching.

Hope Julien funds a spot in line-up regularly but moving him to 1B in a stretch run to playoffs is not sound move. Once Kirilloff is back we have the same clogged issue with two LH batting 2B - one struggles on D! Kirilloff isn’t displacing Wallner nor Kepler at this point, he’s at 1B.

 

Well said. When Krilloff, Lewis and Buxton come back we have a bigger problem than positional issues. We have a problem of who stays on the team, who gets send down and who get released. And what about when Gordon is healthy. He's out of options.

In the end this is a math problem first, then a positional problem. That said, we have a little more time to sort this all out than we're thinking because come September we can stash a couple more players for a month with an expanded roster. After that we either have to deal with the problem for the play offs or have all winter to reassess if we don't make the play offs. Tough decisions are coming. It's just a matter of when

[DJL44]

13 minutes ago, Parfigliano said:

trade Buxton IF Buxton cant play D.

1) Buxton has a no-trade clause as part of the contract

2) No other team wants Buxton if he can't play defense

I wish I would stop seeing people make this suggestion. It has no basis in reality.

[DJL44]

15 minutes ago, Bigfork Twins Guy said:

Have him work hard in the off season on fielding at 2B

I don't care how hard Julien works defensively he won't ever be a better choice at 2B than Brooks Lee. I'd rather see them have Julien work hard in the offseason at 1B or LF to see if there is one position in the field he can play competently.

[tony&rodney]

33 minutes ago, Parfigliano said:

Keep Julien/Kirilloff trade Buxton IF Buxton cant play D.

Buxton has a no trade clause and a contract that runs through the 2028 season. He is not going anywhere.

[MGM4706]

Wow! Some poor assumptions made in this take. You DO still need range at first. You need to field ground balls. And  poor throws from Infielders. Julien can't do any of those things. But it may not matter. It appears the Pitching Reports may be catching up to him. 0-12? Same happened to Miranda. Bring up Brooks Lee Sept 1 and get him ready for for 2024 with Lewis. Lewis, Correa, Lee and Kiriloff. Julien can't even be a utility guy because he can't play one position and especially not 2 or 3. Might be a throw in on trade for bullpen help with Polanco.