DENVER -- The Rockies made a pair of trades on Wednesday, acquiring infielder Edouard Julien and right-handed pitcher Pierson Ohl from the Twins in exchange for Minor League right-hander Jace Kaminska and cash considerations and acquiring Minor League first baseman T.J. Rumfield from the Yankees for right-hander Angel Chivilli.
In addition, Colorado designated outfielder Yanquiel Fernández for assignment.
TRADE DETAILS
Rockies get: 1B T.J. Rumfield
Yankees get: RHP Angel Chivilli
Rockies get: INF Edouard Julien, RHP Pierson Ohl
Twins get: RHP Jace Kaminska, cash considerations
Julien, who will be entering his age-27 season this year, had a strong rookie campaign with Minnesota in 2023, posting a .263/.381/.459 slash line with 16 home runs to finish seventh in American League Rookie of the Year voting. He then performed well in the postseason, batting .364 with two doubles and a homer against the Astros in the AL Division Series.
Since then, however, Julien has struggled, producing a .623 OPS over 509 plate appearances from 2024-25.
“We’re certainly intrigued by the bat,” said Rockies president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta. “I think he has a really, really good track record -- even going back to his time in High-A, Double-A, Triple-A and into his rookie season. … The last couple of years, he hasn’t had as consistent of opportunities as he had that rookie year.
“We like the versatility. He can play first; he can play second. And we like that left-handed bat against right-handed pitching. So we think there are probably some different ways that we can use him.”
The Rockies have a vacancy at first base after parting ways with Michael Toglia earlier this offseason, and the addition of Julien -- who has primarily played second base in his big league career but increasingly appeared at first toward the end of his Twins tenure -- and Rumfield could at least provide depth at the position.
Rumfield, 25, had an .825 OPS with 16 home runs in 587 plate appearances for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre last year. The prior season, he hit .294/.370/.454 with 15 homers in 508 plate appearances between Double-A Somerset and Triple-A. Rumfield was ranked as the No. 22 prospect in the Yankees’ farm system.
DePodesta said that the moves to bring in Julien and Rumfield don’t necessarily mean the Rockies won’t consider adding another first baseman.
“I think really what we’re trying to do is to create really healthy competition on our roster,” DePodesta said. “Most of the players we have acquired do have a good amount of versatility. … So I think there are lots of different ways the pieces can fit, and I think that’s really what we were looking for. And I think we’re also going into it with the idea that the roster is going to be fluid over the course of the year. We know this -- we have injuries, we have players that maybe don’t perform the way you expected them to, etc.
“And I think these players having versatility just makes our roster a little bit more robust. We may not be done adding, we’ll see.”
On the pitching side, Ohl made his Major League debut last July and in 14 appearances (three starts) for the Twins, he pitched to a 5.10 ERA (4.20 FIP) over 30 innings. In 24 Minor League appearances (six starts) last year, the 26-year-old posted a 2.40 ERA between Single-A Fort Myers, Double-A Wichita and Triple-A St. Paul.
Chivilli made 73 appearances out of the bullpen for the Rockies over the past two seasons and has a career 6.18 ERA. The 23-year-old right-hander has produced mediocre strikeout numbers for a reliever, but he has a 97 mph fastball and generated a 29.7% whiff rate in 2025. He also induced ground balls at a high clip -- 49.8%.
Kaminska, 24, was a 10th-round pick by the Rockies in the 2023 Draft out of the University of Nebraska. The right-hander underwent Tommy John surgery and missed the entire 2025 campaign, but the prior year, in his first full season as a pro, he finished with a 2.78 ERA over 87 1/3 innings for Single-A Fresno.
Fernández, who turned 23 on New Year’s Day, was one of Colorado’s top prospects when he made his Major League debut last July. A corner outfielder with raw power and a great arm, he had a .284/.347/.502 slash line with 13 home runs in 271 plate appearances for Triple-A Albuquerque last season.
But that success didn’t translate in his first taste of the Majors -- he posted a .613 OPS with four homers over 147 plate appearances.
With the outfield depth the Rockies have, DePodesta said that while the club feels Fernandez is a good prospect, a left-handed-hitting outfielder was expendable.
One thing that DePodesta said is not the case with Wednesday’s acquisitions is an intention to slow-play prospects who demonstrate they’re ready to be promoted and get significant playing time in the big leagues.
He drew from his famed stint with the “Moneyball” A’s at the turn of the century to explain when asked about what all this means for first baseman Charlie Condon (No. 70 overall prospect, per MLB Pipeline), whom Colorado selected third overall in the 2024 Draft.
“We love Charlie and we’re very excited to have him,” DePodesta said. “I think back to probably 25 years ago or so, when I was in Oakland. We were in Spring Training and we were adding one more player, and there was some concern about how he was going to fit.
“I remember [then-A’s general manager Billy Beane] saying, ‘Do we finally have too many good players?’ We’re obviously not there yet and we’re going to keep adding to this roster, but in no way are we sort of not believing in the young guys we have.”