The Twins have optioned second baseman to Triple-A St. Paul, . Joe Ryan Jersey last night that the move was likely on the horizon, as the Twins need to clear roster space for the return of infielder , whos expected to join the team tomorrow for their series opener against the Yankees. Julien, 25, graduated from top prospect status to the Twins apparent everyday second baseman last year when he hit .263/.381/.459 with 16 homers in 408 plate appearances as a rookie. Minnesota felt comfortable enough with the Canadian-born slugger at second base that they traded stalwart infielder to the Mariners this offseason when looking for ways to pare back the payroll. Julien hit .223/.330/.500 with seven homers through the end of April, but hes since fallen into a slump thats seen him post a bleak .169/.274/.181 slash over a span of 95 trips to the plate. Hes still walking at a hefty 12.6% clip but has also fanned at a 38% rate during that slump (and in 34% of his plate appearances on the season overall). Juliens extremely patient approach has helped him walk in nearly 15% of his MLB plate appearances, but that patience can border on pa sivity as well. is the only qualified hitter in baseball whos swung at fewer pitches than Juliens 37%. The monthlong slump will make Julien the roster casualty for the return of Lewis, whos been Minnesotas best hitter when healthy dating back to his 2022 debut. Injuries have marred Lewis career to date hes twice torn his right ACL and has been out since Opening Day due to a quad strain but the 2017 No. 1 overall draft pick is a .313/.369/.564 hitter (159 wRC+) in 282 MLB plate appearances. He also swatted four homers in 26 postseason playoff appearances last year (in addition to homering in his first at-bat of the 2024 regular season). With Lewis reclaiming the regular third base job and Julien headed to St. Paul, the Twins infield will take on a different look. has been the teams primary third baseman and, after a lost 2023 season, has reemerged as a key contributor. The 25-year-old Miranda (26 later this month) is another former Twins top prospect who impre sed as a rookie in 2022, popping 15 homers and batting .268/.325/.426 in 483 plate appearances. He tried to play through a shoulder impingement that eventually required surgery last season, hitting just .211/.263/.303 in 40 big league games. Now that his shoulder is back at full strength, Miranda looks like his old self. Hes taken 151 turns at the plate and delivered a quite-productive .280/.311/.469 slash with six homers and nine doubles. Miranda doesnt walk much (3.3% this season, 5.3% career) but puts the ball in play at a very high rate (14.6% strikeout rate this year, 17.4% career) and has plenty of extra-base pop. Though he played some second base in the minors, it doesnt seem likely hell do so at this point. Hell rotate between the infield corners and designated hitter, but utilityman figures to pick up the bulk of playing time at second base. The switch-hitting Castro is out to a .260/.335/.420 start and has experience playing all over the diamond. The Twins couldve made a more aggre sive roster decision, cutting ties with a struggling veteran instead. But has rebounded from an awful start to bat .253/.340/.434 over the past 30 days. and both have ugly numbers on the whole, but as Hayes notes, Margot is hitting left-handers fairly well and Farmer is valued both for his defensive versatility and his leadership in the clubhouse. Optioning Julien also preserves depth in a way that parting with someone like Farmer or Margot would not; both players could reject outright a signments to the minors in favor of free agency. The Twins infield crunch falls into the good problem to have bucket of cliches. Juliens demotion certainly doesnt change the organizations view that he can be a valuable long-term contributor, but hell head to Triple-A for whats likely to be a relatively short-term reset. Presumably, in the event of an injury in the infield or at just about any non-catcher spot among the teams position-player corps, Julien would be the first man back up. (Castro could slide right back into a super-utility role or into an everyday outfield role.) From a service time vantage point, Juliens slump could potentially cost him, however. He entered the season with 135 days of MLB service. Had he stayed in the majors for good, hed have been a slam-dunk Super Two player following the 2025 season. Its still po sible he reaches that designation but is now far from a sure thing. Julien has already reached one full year of MLB service, so this a signment wont impact his timeline to free agency, but it could potentially cost him a fourth trip through the arbitration proce s. Jhon Romero Jersey