With Willi Castro and Royce Lewis set to return to the lineup on Tuesday, the Twins needed to clear space on the active roster. Julien was starting regularly against right-handed pitching, but hitting just .198 with a 28 percent strikeout rate thanks to his overly passive approach at the plate. Unless he shifts his approach, it’s hard to see him becoming an MLB regular.

Julien worked Kyle Hendricks for a walk to start the home half of the first inning, then came around to score the game’s first run on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Carlos Correa. He then drew a bases-loaded walk in the fourth inning and rode home on Trevor Larnach’s three-run blast. Julien also led off the sixth with a walk, advanced on a wild pitch and scored on Byron Buxton’s RBI triple. On the season, the 25-year-old infielder is slashing an underwhelming .222/.296/.333 with one homer and seven RBI.

Julien opened the sixth inning with an opposite-field 361-foot (98.1 mph EV) solo shot off of Casey Mize that increased the Twins’ advantage to 3-1. That would be his only hit in four at-bats on the afternoon. The 25-year-old is off to a solid start overall at the plate, slashing .282/.333/.436 with one homer and four RBI through his first 39 at-bats.

Julien, who didn’t start any of the Twins’ first four games, went 3-for-14 with a double and a walk in the last five contests. Jose Miranda is getting the nod over Julien today, with Willi Castro sliding from third base to second.