After a slow start to the offseason, the Minnesota Twins have started to make moves. On Wednesday, they traded second baseman Edouard Julien and RHP Pierson Ohl to the Colorado Rockies for RHP prospect Jace Kaminska and cash.
The trade comes days after the Twins designated Ohl for assignment after they re-signed LHP Taylor Rogers on a one-year, $2 million deal. Neither Ohl nor Julien attended TwinsFest last weekend.
Julien spent three seasons with the Twins, none more crucial than his breakout rookie season in 2023. Julien jumped in at the top of Minnesota’s lineup, hitting .263/.381/.459 with 16 home runs, 37 RBI, and 130 OPS+ over 109 games. He was part of the trio of rookies, which also included Matt Wallner and Royce Lewis, that helped the Twins capture the division title and end their 18-game postseason losing streak.
He was praised by many for his incredible strike zone judgement, which had come a long way since the Twins drafted him in the 18th round of the 2019 MLB Draft out of Auburn University. However, what transpired over the next two seasons fell far short of the expectations Julien had set for himself during his rookie campaign.
Julien never recaptured his rookie performance in the following two seasons. In 2024 and 2025, he immediately struggled after making the Opening Day roster.
In 2024, Julien hit .207/.309/.367 with just seven home runs, 17 RBI, 24 walks, and 66 strikeouts over 194 plate appearances in 57 games. The Twins sent him down to St. Paul on June 3, 2024, and he didn’t rejoin the major league roster until July 20.
The 2025 season wasn’t much different. The Twins sent Julien down in May after he only hit .198/.288/.319 with two home runs, eight RBI, and 29 strikeouts in 102 plate appearances. Julien wouldn’t rejoin the major league roster again until after the 2025 trade deadline fire sale, and performed slightly better down the stretch.
Still, Julien’s days of strong strike zone judgment and power to complement it were long gone. He only had 11 walks and one home run over 104 plate appearances to end the season. Now heading to the most hitter-friendly ballpark in MLB, Julien is heading to a good team that can help turn around his career.
Ohl made his MLB debut on July 29 and made a strong first impression, striking out Roman Anthony, Alex Bregman, and Trevor Story in his first inning of work in the majors. From there, he’d go on to throw his first 30 innings in the majors, posting a 5.10 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 5.3% walk rate, 20.5% strikeout rate, and 4.20 FIP over 14 appearances and three starts.
Ohl has a great command of the strike zone and an effective changeup, and he was productive in Minnesota’s bullpen rebuild at the end of last season. However, he was still working on his fastball, and opposing hitters went 17-for-46 against it (.370).
Coors Field will truly be a feast or famine home ballpark for Ohl and his pitch arsenal. His great changeup and command could absolutely play to his favor if he executes his pitches well. However, if his fastball doesn’t improve much from where it was with the Twins in 2025, he could become the latest victim of the Coors Field effect.
In return, the Twins get Kaminska, 24, whom the Rockies drafted in the 10th round of the 2023 MLB Draft out of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He missed all of the 2025 season due to Tommy John surgery.
In 2024, Kaminska pitched to a 2.78 ERA and 1.05 WHIP, and had 104 strikeouts and just 12 walks in 87 ⅓ innings over 17 starts at Low-A Fresno.
The trade clears a 40-man spot for the Twins with the departure of Julien, leaving them with 39 players on the roster to start the week.