The Twins optioned Julien to Triple-A St. Paul on Monday.
Julien has been unable to find his footing this season, slashing only .198/.288/.319 across 104 plate appearances. With both Royce Lewis (hamstring) and Willi Castro (oblique) retuning from the 10-day injured list, Julien's playing time was set to drop significantly, so he'll head to St. Paul where he can see regular reps.
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Twins' Edouard Julien: Taking seat Sunday
Rotowire
Julien is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Red Sox.
Southpaw Garrett Crochet is taking the hill for Boston, so Julien will remain on the bench for a second straight game. Brooks Lee will cover second base while Julien sits.
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Twins' Edouard Julien: Pops leadoff homer
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Julien went 1-for-5 with a solo homer and a walk in Monday's 11-1 victory over the Guardians.
The Minnesota second baseman hit the game's first pitch out of the park, launching it 403 feet to center off starter Gavin Williams. Julien has been hitting leadoff in a strong-side platoon lately and should get plenty of run while Luke Keaschall (forearm) is on the injured list. Across 92 plate appearances, Julien is slashing .213/.304/.350 with two homers, eight runs scored and eight RBI.
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Twins' Edouard Julien: Getting run in leadoff spot
Rotowire
Julien will start at second base and bat leadoff in Tuesday's contest against the Mets.
It marks the third straight game that Julien has batted leadoff and the eighth game in a row that he's been in the lineup. Previous leadoff man Matt Wallner is hitting third for the Twins on Tuesday.
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Twins' Edouard Julien: Goes to bench Monday
Rotowire
Julien is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Royals.
The left-handed-hitting Julien had started in each of the Twins' last five games -- all against right-handed pitchers -- but he went just 3-for-14 with one walk against four strikeouts during that span. Julien will head to the bench Monday even as the Royals send a right-hander (Michael Lorenzen) to the mound, opening up a starting spot in the infield for Jose Miranda.
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Twins' Edouard Julien: Making first start of season
Rotowire
Julien will start at designated hitter and bat eighth in Tuesday's game against the White Sox.
It's the first start of the season for Julien, who has been limited in the early going due to an illness. He did receive three plate appearances off the bench in Monday's loss to the White Sox, going hitless.
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Twins' Edouard Julien: Hitless in season debut at plate
Rotowire
Julien (illness) went 0-for-3 in Monday's loss to the White Sox. He entered as a pitch hitter and defensive replacement in the fourth inning.
Julien had appeared in only one game as a defensive replacement before Monday due to an illness. He played second base and then later moved to shortstop in a blowout loss -- the first time he's appeared at shortstop in his career. Julien looked set to get playing time against right-handed pitching, but hasn't had a start this season although the illness may have been a factor.
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Twins' Edouard Julien: Has been battling illness
Rotowire
Julien didn't make a start during the weekend series in St. Louis in part due to illness, Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic reports.
The Twins faced all right-handers in the series, but the left-handed hitting Julien's only action came in the late innings of Sunday's game when he played a couple innings on defense. It's not clear how many starts he would have made had he been 100 percent, but the illness did play a part in his absence. Julien is out of the lineup again Monday against White Sox left-hander Martin Perez. It's possible he'll start Tuesday, when the Twins are scheduled to face righty Shane Smith.
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Twins' Edouard Julien: Not in lineup versus righty
Rotowire
Julien is absent from the lineup for Thursday's game in St. Louis, Bobby Nightengale of The Minnesota Star Tribune reports.
The Cardinals are starting a righty in Sonny Gray, but the left-handed hitting Julien finds himself on the bench for the opener. The Twins are going with Willi Castro at second base, Trevor Larnach in the designated-hitter spot and Harrison Bader in left field.
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Twins' Edouard Julien: Set to make final roster
Rotowire
Julien has unofficially won a spot on Minnesota's 26-man roster to begin the season with Austin Martin optioned to Triple-A, the Minnesota Star Tribune reports.
Julien was on the roster bubble, but will make the team with both Royce Lewis and Brooks Lee set to begin the season on the injured list. Julien could get playing time at second base and DH early in the season against right-handed pitching.
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Twins' Edouard Julien: Competing for 2B job
Rotowire
Julien is battling Brooks Lee for the starting second base job this spring with Willi Castro also likely to get time at the position, Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports. He started at second base in his spring debut Sunday and went 1-for-3.
Julien was thought to be a possible platoon partner at first base earlier in the winter, but Minnesota's signing of Ty France likely limits him to second base for any starting job. Julien's role is in flux as he could win the second base job, platoon at first base (or DH or 2B) or even begin the season in the minors. Julien displayed a mix of exceptional plate discipline and power in 2023 with a .381 OBP and .195 ISO, but he struggled with a .615 OPS last season and spent much of the year in the minors.
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Twins' Edouard Julien: Sitting versus lefty
Rotowire
Julien is absent from the lineup for Friday's game against the Orioles.
It's lefty Cade Povich on the mound for the Orioles, but Julien hardly played lately regardless of the handedness of the opposing pitcher, starting just one of the last nine contests. Ryan Jeffers will be the Twins' designated hitter and will bat seventh.
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Twins' Edouard Julien: Losing work vs. righties
Rotowire
Julien is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Guardians.
Julien looks like he could be moving out of the strong-side platoon role at second base that he's held since receiving a call-up from Triple-A St. Paul in mid-August. He'll hit the bench for the third time in four games Wednesday, with two of those absences coming against right-handed pitchers.
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Twins' Edouard Julien: Absent from lineup
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Julien is not in the starting lineup for Sunday's game against the Reds, Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic reports.
Julien will begin Sunday's game in the dugout after going 0-for-7 with three strikeouts over the first two games of the series. Kyle Farmer will start at second base and bat eighth against Cincinnati right-hander Rhett Lowder.
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Twins' Edouard Julien: Avoiding southpaw matchup
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Julien is absent from Monday's lineup against the Angels.
With the Halos sending southpaw Reid Detmers to the mound Monday, the lefty-hitting Julien will retreat to the dugout. Kyle Farmer will start at second base and bat sixth.
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Twins' Edouard Julien: Sitting against lefty
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Julien is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against Atlanta.
The lefty-hitting Julien will bow out of the starting nine while Atlanta sends a tough southpaw (Chris Sale) to the hill. Platoon mate Kyle Farmer will fill in for Julien at the keystone.
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Twins' Edouard Julien: Racks up four hits in rout
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Julien went 4-for-5 with a double and three runs in Wednesday's 11-4 victory against the Padres.
Julien entered Wednesday having collected just two hits over 10 at-bats since returning from the minors Aug. 15. He doubled that hit total in the rout over the Padres, notching his first four-hit game since August of last year. He's gaining some traction in the Twins' lineup, starting four of the team's past six games with Brooks Lee on the injured list due to a shoulder injury.
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Twins' Edouard Julien: Officially demoted to Triple-A
Rotowire
The Twins optioned Julien to Triple-A St. Paul on Monday.
Julien put up a 132 OPS+ last season as a rookie and opened the 2024 campaign as the Twins' leadoff man against right-handed pitching. While he started off with an .830 OPS in April this season, he posted a .482 OPS with a 36.5 percent strikeout rate since May 1. Julien could regain a regular role with Minnesota later this season, but he'll head to St. Paul for now as he looks to get back on track. Willi Castro will likely take over as the Twins' primary second baseman, with Kyle Farmer being mixed in against lefties.
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Twins' Edouard Julien: Demotion could be coming
Rotowire
Julien had a meeting with manager Rocco Baldelli and subsequently met with teammates after Sunday's win over the Astros, which could indicate the second baseman is headed to Triple-A St. Paul as Royce Lewis (quadriceps) is set to return from the 10-day injured list Tuesday, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports.
Julien hit out of the No. 9 hole Sunday and went 0-for-2 with a walk, which dropped his season slash line to .207/.309/.367 through 58 games. The 25-year-old has a 34 percent strikeout rate this year, and the return of Lewis provides an opportunity for Julien to get back on track in a lower-pressure environment. The Twins have yet to make an official announcement regarding Lewis and who he'll replace on the MLB roster.
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Twins' Edouard Julien: Taking seat against southpaw
Rotowire
Julien is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Nationals.
Julien will yield to Kyle Farmer at second base with lefty Patrick Corbin on the mound for the Nationals. Julien is 0-for-12 with five strikeouts since Wednesday.
