The Twins made some roster moves this morning, reinstating Willi Castro and Royce Lewis from the 10-day injured list and optioning Edouard Julien and Mickey Gasper to Triple-A.
After bursting out of the gate as a rookie in 2023, Julien has struggled badly at the plate. He hit .207 with a 97 wRC+ through his first 58 games last season before the Twins sent him down to Triple-A. However, a pair of demotions that summer didn’t seem to help, as he would go on to hit just .186 with a 49 wRC+ over another 36 MLB games. Despite his poor showing in 2024, a solid spring helped Julien earn a spot on Minnesota’s Opening Day roster, and the injuries to Lewis and Castro helped him earn regular playing time. Unfortunately for Julien, he failed to capitalize on that opportunity. His 2025 slash line looks eerily similar to his disappointing 2024 slash line, and he has already compiled -0.5 FanGraphs WAR. The silver lining is that his Statcast expected metrics are much more promising than they were last year (.337 xwOBA, 57th percentile), but even so, it’s not hard to understand why the Twins would rather the second baseman get consistent at-bats at Triple-A to help him work through his struggles and (hopefully) build back his confidence.
Gasper’s demotion is, admittedly, less newsworthy. The Twins acquired the 29-year-old in a minor trade this past offseason, and this is already the second time they have optioned him in 2025. Versatility is his primary asset, as he has spent time at first base, second base, catcher, and left field for the Twins in 17 games this season. He has hit .176 with a 49 wRC+.
Castro, an All-Star for the first time in 2024, had been on the IL with a right oblique strain since April 24, retroactive to April 21, although he has not played since April 16. The utility man was off to a poor start, batting just .227 with an 89 wRC+. As the Twins’ offense continues to underwhelm, the team will look to a healthy Castro to rediscover the above-average offense that made him such a sneakily valuable player in each of the past two years.
Lewis, meanwhile, will be making his 2025 debut after suffering a hamstring strain in spring training. The young third baseman has shown the potential to be a game-changing bat in the middle of the order; he hit .307 with 17 home runs and a 158 wRC+ in 70 games between 2022-23. Yet, he took a step back offensively last season. His power numbers were still impressive (16 home runs in 82 games), but his batting average dropped substantially, and his overall numbers fell with it. He was still an above-average hitter (108 wRC+), but he didn’t develop into the superstar the Twins were hoping he could be. It certainly didn’t help that injuries, a common theme throughout his first two seasons, continued to plague him in 2024. Thus, as Lewis returns to the field in 2025, the Twins will hope he looks more like his 2022-23 self at the plate and that he can finally put his injury issues behind him.
Update: Lewis tripped on his way to the clubhouse, breaks both legs and arms. Back to the IL.
Byron Buxton isn’t happy that there are now two injury-prone players on the team. There can only be one.
There are at least three (Correa) but in the end there’s usually only one around at any given point.
What would it take for a Lewis trade?
Gotta wait for him to be on fire. This front office doesn’t trade guys at their low points. And why would you want to. You’d get nothing back.
No the time to trade him would be when he’s certainly a commodity. At that point you’d probably want to keep him.
Dude, there’s 40 of them.
Gasper? I barely knew her!
I hope Castro took advantage of his time off to grow out his ‘stache and neck beard into a shrub-like mess like his namesake Fidel. Gasper did at least bring that to the team.
Lewis for Volpe? Why would you want him right now? Lol
Trade Lewis for Martin
So, obviously, Buxton or Correa will be injured by the end of the week. Or maybe even both. But 100% one of them will be.
Ha! Where did you come up with such risque comedy? This guy is hilarious!
These are the salad days for one Julien
There shouldn’t be commas around admittedly. “Meanwhile” has to start the sentence, not come in the middle between commas.