The Rockies have been busier this winter, or at least more active than past offseasons. On January 28, the Rockies made two trades. Colorado shipped out Angel Chivilli to New York for infielder T.J. Rumfield, and also acquired Edouard Julien and Pierson Ohl from the Twins.
Chivilli to Yankees, Rockies get Rumfield
Despite what was a trying year for the Colorado Rockies, the team’s bullpen was a rare strength last season. Seth Halvorsen emerged as a solid closing option for the future, while the mix of Jimmy Herget, Juan Mejia, and Victor Vodnik all provided different looks out of the bullpen.
Angel Chivilli, a 23-year-old right-hander, was one of several interesting, young arms for the Rockies. However, he didn’t have much success. Last season, Chivilli gave up 46 earned runs over 56.2 IP, 13 home runs, and ranked 217th out of 221 relievers in wOBA (.387) last season.
Granted, Colorado is not a friendly ballpark for pitchers. However, there were things in Chivilli’s game that you just don’t want to see at all.
Chivilli is a hard-throwing right-hander who topped out at 99 MPH and averaged 97 MPH last season. However, his four-seamer missed very few bats. Only 11% of swings last season off the four-seamer resulted in a swing-and-miss. And the year before, that number was just 9.4%.
His four-seamer is very runny. There’s not much induced vertical break on it, and it runs more than it rides. Thus, it acts more like a two-seamer than a four-seamer. It, on paper, is something that can be corrected.
The good news with Chivilli’s numbers is that he had a Whiff% over 40% on both the changeup and slider. Unsurprisingly, given those numbers, his overall Whiff% (29.7%) ranked above the league median despite the fastball getting hit.
In return, the Rockies received infielder T.J. Rumfield. Rumfield has been with the Yankees organization since November 2021, when New York (AL) acquired him from the Phillies as part of the deal that sent Nick Nelson and Donny Sands to Philadelphia.
The 25-year-old Rumfield had some interesting years in the Minors, highlighted by a 17-home run campaign in 2023 between High-A and Double-A across 82 contests. This past season, Rumfield slashed .285/.378/.447 with 16 home runs and 48 extra-base hits across 138 contests with Scranton.
Rumfield isn’t a high power (6.3% Barrel%) guy, even though one could argue that an average power hitter can do well in Coors Field. On the other hand, low Whiff% (21.5%), and slightly below-average tendency to chase (27.9% Chase%) down in Triple-A.
Still, he walked a lot of times. Rumfield received 70 free passes in 2025.
Colorado acquired Julien & Ohl
Three years ago, Edouard Julien was a high-rising name in the Twins’ organization. A power-hitting second baseman with power and ability to work counts & get on base, Julien looked to be a key part of Minnesota’s future. That didn’t turn out to be the case.
Sure, Julien had his moments. The now-26-year-old hit 16 home runs in his rookie season three years ago. However, Julien had trouble at second base defensively. And despite a good eye at the plate, Julien had difficulties with breaking balls and offspeed. Over the last two seasons, Julien bounced around between the Majors and Triple-A.
Julien’s eye (17.1% Chase%) remains his biggest asset. On the other hand, he doesn’t possess elite bat speed and tops off on pitchers with regularity, in addition to the aforementioned swing-and-miss troubles.
The Rockies also received pitcher Pierson Ohl. Ohl was a swing-and-miss machine in Double-A last season and ultimately made his MLB debut later in the year. The 26-year-old struck out 27 over 30 innings for the Twins at the MLB level.
Low-90s fastball, along with a low-80s changeup with high separation off the fastball, plus a cutter and curveball.
The Twins received pitcher Jace Kaminska, a 10th-round pick by Colorado out of the University of Nebraska. Kaminska, who did not pitch last year, struck out 104 batters over 87.1 IP.
Analysis
The new regime is shaking up things in Colorado. And aside from those moves, the Rockies also designated former top prospect Yanquiel Fernandez for assignment. Fernandez was an intriguing power hitter in the Minors but limited thanks to extremely high chase and defensive limitations.
At the very least, the Rockies are getting players that fit the analytical mantra that’ll likely be in place with Paul DePodesta running the show. Two high OBP players who can hit for power, and potentially, fit in Coors Field.
Switching briefly to the Yankees for a second, though, New York didn’t give up much to get Chivilli, a project pitcher heading into 2026. That’s not to say Rumfield won’t be useful. However, with Ben Rice around, Rumfield didn’t have an opening in the Yankees’ infield.
Given that, presently, the Rockies’ likely option at first base was going to be Blaine Crim heading into the spring, that does change somewhat. But, the same could also go for Edouardo Julien, who can play first and second.
Julien is out of options heading into 2026. So, Minnesota had to make a move on him before Opening Day anyway.
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