The Rockies swung a pair of deals to add a couple options at first base yesterday, picking up Edouard Julien (and reliever Pierson Ohl) from the Twins in exchange for minor league pitcher Jace Kaminska and sending righty Angel Chivilli to the Yankees in exchange for first base prospect T.J. Rumfield. Both Julien and Rumfield could factor into the Rockies’ big league plans at first base, but new president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta indicated following that pair of trades that he’s still open to bringing in a first baseman (link via Manny Randhawa of MLB.com).
“I think really what we’re trying to do is to create really healthy competition on our roster,” said DePodesta. “Most of the players we have acquired do have a good amount of versatility.”
The 26-year-old Julien’s glovework at second base has been generally panned, and he hasn’t handled himself all that well at first base from a defensive standpoint, either. Still, DePodesta listed him as an option at both positions, noting that the Rockies are intrigued by Julien’s minor league track record and terrific rookie season.
Back in 2023, Julien indeed looked like a potential fixture in the Twins’ lineup. A top-100 prospect prior to his big league debut, he burst onto the MLB scene with a .263/.381/.459 slash (134 wRC+) and ripped 16 home runs in 408 plate appearances as a rookie. His 31.4% strikeout rate was clearly too high, but Julien also walked in nearly 16% of his plate appearances. Throughout his minor league tenure, he was hailed as something of an all-bat prospect who’d post huge OBP numbers with above-average power but lacked a clear defensive home.
The lack of a defensive home has proven true, but Julien’s bat has wilted over the past two seasons. He’s taken 509 MLB plate appearances since Opening Day 2024 and managed only a .208/.299/.324 batting line (79 wRC+). His walk rate has dipped to a still-strong 10.8%, while his strikeout rate has nominally climbed to 32%.
Julien, who’ll turn 27 in April, will be on the roster one way or another, given the fact that he’s out of minor league options. That could be at first base, second base or designated hitter. It’ll surely depend on who the opposing starter is, too, given that the lefty-swinging Canadian has hit just .209/.278/.313 in the 126 plate appearances he’s been afforded versus southpaws at the big league level.
Rumfield, too, could factor in at first base but isn’t a lock to do so from the jump — particularly not with Julien now in the fold. Rumfield is a 25-year-old who slashed .285/.378/.447 in Triple-A this past season and .292/.365/.461 there a season prior. He doesn’t have much left to prove in the minors, but the Rockies aren’t going to simply hand him the first base job, either. He’ll likely need to earn a spot with a solid showing this spring.
Even if Rumfield plays his way onto the roster, bringing in a veteran first baseman makes some sense. If the Rockies were truly confident that he’s ready for an immediate MLB look, they coudl’ve selected him in last month’s Rule 5 Draft. Rumfield was eligible for selection but not taken. Acquiring him via trade rather than the Rule 5 creates a path to give Rumfield some further minor league time.
There ought to be plenty of first base and designated hitter at-bats available in Colorado. Someone like Luis Arraez, Nathaniel Lowe or Rhys Hoskins would add some competition and a potential deadline chip, depending on how said veteran performs over the season’s first few months. A veteran signing would probably cut into playing time for players like Troy Johnston and Blaine Crim, but they’re both 28-year-old with less than a year of big league service and fairly marginal Triple-A track records. There shouldn’t be any financial worries standing in the way of a more veteran addition; the Rockies’ projected $110MM Opening Day payroll (via RosterResource) would be their lowest since 2021 and second-lowest since 2015.
