Could Edouard Julien Be the Next Surprise Demotion for Minnesota Twins?

[Cody Schoenmann]

Image courtesy of © Eric Canha-Imagn Images

On Tuesday, third baseman Royce Lewis and utility player Willi Castro could be activated off the 10-day injured list, adding much-needed reinforcements to an injury-stricken Minnesota Twins position player group. Lewis figures to split time between third base and DH, while Castro should slide back into a near-everyday role playing multiple positions. Although it might be a bit longer before Castro returns, when both guys are back, the Twins will need to open two 26-man roster spots for them.

At first glance, Mickey Gasper seems likely to be demoted to Triple-A St. Paul. Recently acquired infielders Jonah Bride and Kody Clemens are candidates to lose their places, too. However, depending on how confident the team is in Lewis's ability to play third most days and on Castro's ability to bat from the left side without problems, both players could be spared—at the expense of Edouard Julien.

Over 104 plate appearances in his third season in the majors, Julien has yet to rule again. Instead, he's hitting .198/.288/.319, with five doubles, two home runs, a 27.9% strikeout rate, and a 78 wRC+. The 26-year-old French Canadian hasn't improved defensively either, posting -5 Outs Above Average (OAA) at second base. Given that he is the fourth-worst qualified fielder in baseball while also performing 22 points worse than average at the plate, Julien has been a sub-replacement-level player.

Neither Bride nor Clemens has performed well this season, generating a combined 29 wRC+ over 86 plate appearances. However, the two have performed well since joining Minnesota. Since making his Twins debut on Apr. 19, Bride has hit .350/.364/.350 with a 106 wRC+ over 22 plate appearances. Julien hit .139/.295/.250 with 69 wRC+ over 44 plate appearances in the same timeframe. Bride has demonstrated the ability to reach base at a significantly higher rate than Julien, while striking out at an impressively low 13.6% rate. Julien has a 31.8% strikeout rate over the same stretch.

Since joining the club on Apr. 28, Clemens has also outperformed Julien, albeit with a paltry .167/.167/.500 line and an 80 wRC+ over 12 plate appearances. Julien has hit .125/.222/.313 with a 54 wRC+ over 18 plate appearances during the same stretch. Clemens got the start over Julien at second base on Saturday against Boston and earned a pinch-hitting opportunity over Julien in the eighth inning of Sunday's contest.

The argument for Bride deserving a spot on the 26-man roster over Clemens and Julien is relatively straightforward. Since joining Minnesota, the former Marlin has been a plus hitter, while being a surehanded defender at third base and still possessing the ability to play first base. Having effectively stepped into the Jose Miranda role, there is reason to believe Bride will hold a 26-man roster spot upon Lewis and Castro's returns, even though Lewis will receive the bulk of opportunities at the hot corner. The club's 13th and final position player spot will likely come down to Clemens and Julien. Despite possessing a greater ceiling than Clemens, Julien could be the odd player out, given Clemens's defensive superiority and flexibility.

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[Craig Arko]

I wouldn’t be surprised at all.

[Patzky]

Bride's tank job Sunday between shoddy fielding and a large O-fer may have saved Julien for a brief interlude. Gasper.. absolutely. Clemens seems to have some defensive wits about him that Julien (maybe Castro too) is missing at 2nd. 

When it's time Lee can go to second and Lewis take third, rendering Gasper expendable. When Castro returns Edouard should be gone.

 

The less surprised and more interested question for me is when Alcala will be let go.

[Patzky]

Just now, Craig Arko said:

I wouldn’t be surprised at all.

I've been expecting as well. 

[DJL44]

Possible, but I'd rather they demote Gasper and Keirsey. Castro can fill in as a defensive substitute in the outfield if needed. Keirsey can't hit at all.

They may prioritize keeping Bride and Clemens on the roster, so they have enough players to finish the season. I am betting we see several players dealt at the deadline.

[chpettit19]

It's pretty hard to judge what their plans are this year because of the roster makeup due to injuries recently. They seem to have moved somewhat away from needing to play everyone a decent amount as Keirsey was getting essentially no run when the roster was even remotely healthy (outside of defense and pinch running). If they're willing to go with pretty close to a set 10 guy lineup (despite reports that they were going to lean more heavily on Jeffers behind the plate they really haven't done that so it's still a 10-man lineup when you include the 2 catchers), then I could see Julien going down when Lewis and/or Castro are back as they wouldn't likely want him sitting on the bench while they'd be more open to Gasper, Bride, and Clemens sitting around.

I'd guess they don't care a ton if they lose Clemens, but I think they actually like Bride so I'd be pretty surprised if they DFA'd him. But we know they love their "depth" so Julien having options makes it easier to send him down as they do have a tendency to freak out over injuries and if they're in that kind of mood and like Clemens at all they'll keep him around in the name of "depth" even if he's easily replaceable at any point in time.

With all that being said, I don't think it'd be surprising at all to see Julien sent down. He may actually be fighting with Gasper as the most likely candidates. It'd actually surprise me more to see Castro back Tuesday without a single rehab game than it would to see Julien sent down. My guess would be Castro gets a few rehab games before he's back, but Lewis is back Tuesday and Gasper goes down while Julien lives to botch grounders another day. But he faces the chopping block again when Castro is back depending on the health of the rest of the squad (never a safe bet) so he better start out performing rocket jr by then.

[Doctor Gast]

What! Send Julien down? Who will lead off? You have to trust the process, not the results (at least in Julien case).

[Jocko87]

We are at the point of the season where options rule. The circumstances that led to Bride and Clemens are still around.

If one of the options guys was named Keaschall it might be a different story but for now, the move the keeps everyone around is the move that has to be made.

[SD happy]

I think three days ago, it was a no brainer that Gasper and Clemens were the first two to go. Then, Clemens hit the big two run homer on Saturday, played decent defense and then the clincher, he was the left handed pinch hitter over Julien on Sunday. I think he now stays for awhile longer, and it will be Gasper and Julien the first two to go.

[Fire Dan Gladden]

Clemens is a pure placeholder. Bride may continue to play himself into a longer term roster spot. I have to imagine the patience with Julien is about gone.

[LambchoP]

I think Gasper and Clemens should be dropped first. They can be replaced by Lewis and Castro. Clemens can be emergency IF bench guy. I think they should send Keirsey down and give his spot to Mccusker. See if he can keep slugging in the big leagues, at least until Wallner is back. Keirsey obviously cannot hit MLB pitching so what's the harm in giving the big man a chance?

[Whitey333]

I'm guessing it's Gasper and Clemens to go.  But does it really matter?  They have plenty of options.  They are still 7 games out of first place in the Central.  The thing is it's early in the season is getting late.  We've been saying this since the team started 0-4.  When is it don't worry it's early?  A slumping Oriole team comes to town on Tuesday.  The Twins need to sweep them or at least take 2 of three.  Anything less is a total failure.  Royce Lewis needs to prove he can stay on the field AND be productive.  Put up or shut up.  

[Guest]

Demoting Julien would surprise only those who thought his 2024 was a one-off.  Julien's broken, and this year's adjustments aren't enough....

[1985Fan]

Julien absolutely should be sent down. He has no place on the field and he’s not a DH option. What is the rush bringing Lewis up? He’s not hitting AAA pitching and he tanked last year. He’s not a good defender at 3rd and he isn’t hitting. I say let him show he can hit AAA pitching before you bring him up. So far he’s hitting .174 with a .384 OPS. That doesn’t scream promotion to me. 

[IndianaTwin]

Unfortunately, it wouldn't be much of a surprise for Julien to get demoted.

It wouldn't be much of a surprise for Clemens, Bride, Gasper or Kiersey either, but that's a different discussion. Specifically, yikes -- five guys out of 13 who are viable demotion/DFA candidates!

 

[gman]

Julian needs to play full time, probably at 3A. He will or won't find his way back, but he'll never do it sitting on the bench. The others, Clemens, Bride, and Gaspar are just holding places.

[Vanimal46]

2 hours ago, Craig Arko said:

I wouldn’t be surprised at all.

Me either. And he was demoted just now along with Gasper. 

 

[IndianaTwin]

1 hour ago, chpettit19 said:

It's pretty hard to judge what their plans are this year because of the roster makeup due to injuries recently. They seem to have moved somewhat away from needing to play everyone a decent amount as Keirsey was getting essentially no run when the roster was even remotely healthy (outside of defense and pinch running). If they're willing to go with pretty close to a set 10 guy lineup (despite reports that they were going to lean more heavily on Jeffers behind the plate they really haven't done that so it's still a 10-man lineup when you include the 2 catchers), then I could see Julien going down when Lewis and/or Castro are back as they wouldn't likely want him sitting on the bench while they'd be more open to Gasper, Bride, and Clemens sitting around....

My take on Jeffers/Vazquez is that on Saturday and Sunday they prioritized Vazquez's defense over Gasper's, Julien's or Kiersey's bat.

Given Cleveland's and Boston's seemingly running at will on Jeffers Wednesday and Friday, I took it as using Vazquez for defense and letting Jeffers DH. If you're going to have a black hole in the lineup with Julien, for example, you might as well have a black hole with Vazquez and improve the defense. 

That scenario, with catching Vazquez and using Jeffers as the DH, might be Gasper's saving grace on the roster, since his ability to be an emergency catcher does allow them to DH Jeffers without risking losing the DH by Vazquez getting hurt.

 

EDIT: Based on what Vanimal just posted, apparently you can scratch my third paragraph going forward. I think the first two paragraphs still stand, however. And now that they have two more bats they can use as DH (or to shuffle someone else to DH), rather than using Jeffers there as much, it will be interesting to see how the Vazquez/Jeffers balance plays out.

[chpettit19]

2 minutes ago, IndianaTwin said:

My take on Jeffers/Vazquez is that on Saturday and Sunday they prioritized Vazquez's defense over Gasper's, Julien's or Kiersey's bat.

Given Cleveland's and Boston's seemingly running at will on Jeffers Wednesday and Friday, I took it as using Vazquez for defense and letting Jeffers DH. If you're going to have a black hole in the lineup with Julien, for example, you might as well have a black hole with Vazquez and improve the defense. 

That scenario, with catching Vazquez and using Jeffers as the DH, might be Gasper's saving grace on the roster, since his ability to be an emergency catcher does allow them to DH Jeffers without risking losing the DH by Vazquez getting hurt.

 

Oh, his defense is obviously the only reason he'd ever be on the field, I'm just saying, to this point, they haven't started using Jeffers more frequently as it was reported they were going to. And they certainly may change things when Lewis gets here and DHs more, I don't know. I was just noting that they haven't leaned more heavily on Jeffers to this point.

[Fire Dan Gladden]

1 hour ago, Whitey333 said:

I'm guessing it's Gasper and Clemens to go.  But does it really matter?  They have plenty of options.  They are still 7 games out of first place in the Central.  The thing is it's early in the season is getting late.  We've been saying this since the team started 0-4.  When is it don't worry it's early?  A slumping Oriole team comes to town on Tuesday.  The Twins need to sweep them or at least take 2 of three.  Anything less is a total failure.  Royce Lewis needs to prove he can stay on the field AND be productive.  Put up or shut up.  

The phrase I have always heard is that it takes 40 games to really determine what type of team you are.  We are almost there, and it isn't pretty. The SP is starting to come around. The BP has been a roller-coaster. Injuries have decimated the lineup, but Lewis and Castro back should help. There is time, but they really can't slide any further back then they currently are before the mountain becomes too big.

[Doctor Gast]

13 minutes ago, IndianaTwin said:

Unfortunately, it wouldn't be much of a surprise for Julien to get demoted.

It wouldn't be much of a surprise for Clemens, Bride, Gasper or Kiersey either, but that's a different discussion. Specifically, yikes -- five guys out of 13 who are viable demotion/DFA candidates!

 

Julien has had the most chances to make a go of it of the bunch. IMO, the whole bunch should be sent down. Keirsey has had the fewest opportunities. The one time he had regular ABs, he showed promise & the team did well.  But the other times, they were sparse. He doesn't deserve to be sent down but rookies need plenty of playing time; he's not getting it from Baldelli. He needs to go down to AAA to remove the splinters from his backside. 

[Seth Stohs]

Yes.... Castro and Lewis activated... Gasper and Julien optioned...

I don't think it's tooo suprising. They weren't going to lose Clemens and Bride now. 

[bean5302]

Royce Lewis is hitting .174/.167/.217 in AAA in 24 PA while sitting in the hotel watching every game get rained out. Not sure how that benefits his conditioning or shows he's ready.

[Patzky]

15 minutes ago, Vanimal46 said:

Me either. And he was demoted just now along with Gasper. 

 

And the guesswork is done.

[IndianaTwin]

12 minutes ago, chpettit19 said:

Oh, his defense is obviously the only reason he'd ever be on the field, I'm just saying, to this point, they haven't started using Jeffers more frequently as it was reported they were going to. And they certainly may change things when Lewis gets here and DHs more, I don't know. I was just noting that they haven't leaned more heavily on Jeffers to this point.

I don't remember when the statement was made, but from April 15-May 2, Jeffers started 11 of 16 games behind the plate, including 9 of 12 from the 15th to the 28th. It's just been the last several days that they went back to alternating, with Vazquez getting both Saturday and Sunday. 

(It's also been in that last stretch, and a couple more, that they had lost another bat in Keaschal.)

 

Enough has gone wrong that it's hard to see Lewis and Castro as the saviors to the season, but they do change the roster pretty dramatically. The last week, they had five guys they couldn't/didn't trust offensively -- Vazquez, Julien, Bride, Clemens, Gasper, Kiersey. You can't have a lineup without at least one of them in it. 

Now, with no Julien and Gasper, you have a bench of Catcher, Bride, Clemens and Kiersey. Keirsey hardly starts but he's even more the PR and defensive replacement for Larnach. Bride and Clemens can slide into being true spot starters, rather than either Bride or Clemens starting seven of the last nine days (plus four starts for Gasper and five for Julien in that window.

 

[bean5302]

When it comes to Julien, he's got to produce, and he needs to understand that production can't come from standing at the plate like a statue watching strikes fly by. Even if Julien winds up working a walk doesn't make up for staring down a meatball he should have put in the seats.

If it's stress/mental, he needs to suck it up and do his job. As harsh as that is, nobody is going to wait for him. It's sink or swim when your production is out in the open for everybody to see.

[Doctor Gast]

19 minutes ago, IndianaTwin said:

My take on Jeffers/Vazquez is that on Saturday and Sunday they prioritized Vazquez's defense over Gasper's, Julien's or Kiersey's bat.

Given Cleveland's and Boston's seemingly running at will on Jeffers Wednesday and Friday, I took it as using Vazquez for defense and letting Jeffers DH. If you're going to have a black hole in the lineup with Julien, for example, you might as well have a black hole with Vazquez and improve the defense. 

That scenario, with catching Vazquez and using Jeffers as the DH, might be Gasper's saving grace on the roster, since his ability to be an emergency catcher does allow them to DH Jeffers without risking losing the DH by Vazquez getting hurt.

 

EDIT: Based on what Vanimal just posted, apparently you can scratch my third paragraph going forward. I think the first two paragraphs still stand, however. And now that they have two more bats they can use as DH (or to shuffle someone else to DH), rather than using Jeffers there as much, it will be interesting to see how the Vazquez/Jeffers balance plays out.

In Vazquez's defense of the black hole. Vazquez has gotten some clutch hits in close games in his last few games.

[chpettit19]

7 minutes ago, IndianaTwin said:

I don't remember when the statement was made, but from April 15-May 2, Jeffers started 11 of 16 games behind the plate, including 9 of 12 from the 15th to the 28th. It's just been the last several days that they went back to alternating, with Vazquez getting both Saturday and Sunday. 

(It's also been in that last stretch, and a couple more, that they had lost another bat in Keaschal.)

That's what I get for going off my memory! Thanks for the info.

[IndianaTwin]

27 minutes ago, chpettit19 said:

That's what I get for going off my memory! Thanks for the info.

No problem -- the start of this season has had us trying to put a lot out of our memories. 

[IndianaTwin]

1 hour ago, chpettit19 said:

Oh, his defense is obviously the only reason he'd ever be on the field, I'm just saying, to this point, they haven't started using Jeffers more frequently as it was reported they were going to. And they certainly may change things when Lewis gets here and DHs more, I don't know. I was just noting that they haven't leaned more heavily on Jeffers to this point.

It will also be interesting in that their next nine games are against Baltimore and San Francisco, one spot below and one spot above the Twins in steals, near the bottom of the list. Then they have three with Milwaukee, near the top of the list. 

Check back with me later, but my prediction is Jeffers Tuesday and Thursday against Baltimore this week and then since Thursday is an afternoon game, Jeffers on Friday and Sunday against the Giants. Then the next week, Jeffers on Tuesday and Thursday against Baltimore, but Vazquez Friday and Sunday against Milwaukee to get two of three in that series, since the Brewers run a lot. Book it. 

 

As a general rule with wanting to do "load management," but with also seeing Jeffers as the better bat, I've thought that a starting point is to have see Jeffers play every other day, rather than every other game. That would mean that in an even number of consecutive days, they would be equal, but in odd game stretches, Jeffers would always get the extra.