In yet another move this morning, Colorado Rockies announced they have acquired infielder Edouard Julien and right-handed pitcher Pierson Ohl from the Minnesota Twins in exchange for minor league pitcher Jace
Kaminska and cash considerations.
Out of minor league options, Julien, 26, joins the club after spending parts of three seasons with the Twins. Originally drafted in the 18th round out of Auburn University in 2019, the native of Quebec City, Canada, has slashed .232/.336/.382 in his big league career. He burst onto the scene as a rookie in 2023, slashing .263/.381/.459 with 16 home runs, finishing seventh in the American League Rookie of the Year voting. However, he struggled in his playing time over the next two seasons, capped by a rough 2025 campaign in which he hit just .220 with a .633 OPS in 64 games.
Julien spent the majority of the year in Triple-A, where he batted .276 with a .879 OPS, 33 runs scored, and 21 extra-base hits, including 11 home runs over 70 games. Strikeouts have certainly been an issue for him in his big league career at a 31.7% clip, but he has also managed an above average 13% walk rate. Defensively, he gives the Rockies a little bit of versatility on the right side of the infield at the two most unsettled positions. He has started 159 games at second base and 23 at first base. The added bonus is that he is a left-handed batter.
Ohl, 26, was recently designated for assignment by the Twins. A 14th-round pick by the Twins in 2021 out of Grand Canyon University, Ohl finally made his big league debut in 2025, where he went 0-3 with a 5.10 ERA and 27 strikeouts against five walks in 30 innings over 14 games that included three starts. His minor league career, spanning five seasons, paints a better picture. He owns a career 3.61 ERA in 394 innings over 90 appearances. He has tallied 373 strikeouts and a 1.13 WHIP and was named a Texas League Post-Season All-Star in 2023 and 2025.
He has primarily been used as a starter in his career and could fit into the mix for the Rockies’ rotation while remaining an option as a swing-man out of the bullpen. Per Statcast, he features a primarily four-pitch mix that includes a 92 MPH four-seam fastball alongside a cutter, curveball, and changeup. Statcast also indicates that he threw five knuckleballs in 2025. Aside from the fastball, his other pitches generated at least a 20% whiff rate, while his changeup secured 13 of his 27 strikeouts. He pounds the zone and doesn’t walk many batters.
Kaminska did not pitch in 2025 as he recovered from surgery on his elbow. Drafted in the 10th round from the University of Nebraska in 2023, he went 5-5 with a 2.78 ERA across 17 outings, including 16 starts, across his first two seasons in the minors with the Arizona Complex League and the Low-A Fresno Grizzlies. In 2024, he had 104 strikeouts against just 12 walks in 87 1/3 innings.
The moves come on the heels of the Rockies clearing space on the 40-man roster after trading reliever Angel Chivilli to the New York Yankees for first base prospect T.J. Rumfield and designating outfielder Yanquiel Fernández for assignment.
The team now has a full 40-man roster.
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