With star third baseman Royce Lewis expected to return from the injured list Tuesday, the Minnesota Twins have optioned Canadian second baseman Edouard Julien to triple-A St. Paul.
While there has been no formal announcement from the team, MLB.com’s transaction logs show that Julien has, in fact, been sent down.
After the Twins beat the Houston Astros on Sunday, Julien was seen going into the manager’s office and giving hugs to teammates before leaving the clubhouse.
Julien was one of the highlights for the 2023 Twins, helping them to an AL Central title in his rookie campaign.
The 25-year-old Julien slashed .263/.381/.459 with 16 home runs and 64 walks. His 16 long balls set a record for most in a season by a Canadian second baseman.
The Quebec City native ended up seventh in AL Rookie of the Year voting.
This season has been a different story for Julien, who is slashing .207/.309/.367 with seven home runs through 58 games. While he started the season well, he struggled in May, going just 13-for-72 with only one extra-base hit in the month.
Last March, Julien represented Canada at the World Baseball Classic, where he led the tournament in OPS.
Minnesota enters play Monday with a 33-26 record and trails both the Cleveland Guardians and Kansas City Royals in the AL Central.