“The infield, quite honestly — and if you like defense, (and) I like defense — will be the best defense, maybe in the history of the game.”
When Dick Monfort proclaimed that the 2025 Colorado Rockies would have perhaps the greatest defense in the history of Major League Baseball, we all had a good laugh.
It was a fantastic example of the Rockies owner’s borderline delusional optimism about his ball club. The yearly bluster made before the spring training at some event or variety of luncheon has become a regular occurrence.
We all knew the reality would be quite different.
The Rockies defense was likely to be fairly average—maybe better than last season—but at least a bright spot. Perennial Gold Glove finalist Ryan McMahon and Gold Glove winners Ezequiel Tovar and Brenton Doyle would be bright spots on said defense, which would overall be a strength in what we all knew was otherwise going to be a long and losing season.
Instead, everyone, including Monfort, was wrong, and the 2025 Rockies have been one of the worst defenses in the league.
The Rockies had the second-most errors in baseball coming into Sunday with 94. Only the Boston Red Sox—still gunning for a playoff spot at 68-57—have more at 97, while the Cleveland Guardians with the third-most still have a full 12 errors fewer than the Rockies.
Basic defensive metrics for the Rockies don’t paint a pretty picture. They have the most throwing errors in the league, the second-most fielding errors, and are tied for worst fielding percentage. They also have the most errors committed by both pitchers and catchers, and the second-most by shortstops. However, only seven of their 18 errors at short were by Ezequiel Tovar.
Tovar has missed significant time with multiple injuries this season. While he hasn’t looked completely like his Gold Glove winning self from 2024, he’s been a bright spot of the Rockies’ defense. Tovar is the team leader in most advanced defensive metrics behind the now-departed Ryan McMahon with three defensive runs saved, three outs above average, a Statcast fielding run value of 3, and an overall fielding value per FanGraphs of 4.4 so far this season.
The problem is that defensively, Tovar is on an island this season.
There are currently only two other infielders on the active roster with one or more defensive runs saved in Kyle Karros (1) at third base and Warming Bernabel (3) at first base. Both players have been with the team for less than a month.
The overall state of the infield defense is perhaps not that surprising, especially with the departure of Ryan McMahon and the revolving doors at second base and shortstop. What has been a surprise, however, is the fall of Michael Toglia.
Toglia entered the season as the de-facto starting first baseman, but failed to regain the form he showcased through the end of last season. Compounding matters is his sub-par metrics at first base.
Despite being known for his strong glovework, Toglia has the worst outs above average, fielding run value, and overall defensive value of all qualified first basemen while his -3 defensive runs saved is in the bottom ten at the position. Toglia’s -12.7 defensive value per Fangraphs is the third worst among all qualified defenders this season and he’s worth -0.8 defensive wins above replacement according to Baseball Reference.
Toglia’s replacement at first base, Warming Bernabel, has already doubled up on Toglia’s defensive runs saved since taking over at the position.
The defensive situation in the outfield is even worse.
Jordan Beck as the primary left fielder passes the eye test as defensively fine, but his metrics—which are admittedly already working against him due to the cavernous outfield of Coors—depict plenty of room for improvement. He is worth -5 defensive runs saved and has a well below average -2 fielding run value per Statcast.
Gold Glove winner Brenton Doyle’s under the hood defensive numbers aren’t particularly pretty either, especially after a tough first half where he seemed to have everything going against him. However, Doyle has made several of his usual jaw-dropping plays in center field, and his numbers are recovering as he looks more and more like his old self. Doyle has gained four defensive runs saved since the All-Star Break—going from -10 to -6—tacked on an extra out above average, and his defensive WAR has gone up to -0.5 on the season so far.
Doyle has gone from the league’s least valuable player with -2.0 bWAR at the start of July to -0.4 bWAR and climbing with the chance to hit a positive number by the end of the season.
The same cannot be said for the two-headed right field monster that is Mickey Moniak and Tyler Freeman.
While their bats have undoubtedly been impressive for the Rockies, there’s a reason both of them are worth negative bWAR this season despite each having a 114 OPS+ and a wRC+ above league average.
From bad routes and bad bounces to weak throws and straight up miscues, Moniak and Freeman are two of the least valuable defenders in the league this season. Each is worth a league-worst -1.8 defensive WAR, and both are worth -4 outs above average. They also each have a fielding run value of -5 or worse per Statcast.
The Rockies value Moniak because he can play all three positions in the outfield. The problem is that he plays none of them particularly well. He does the least damage in left field with -1 defensive runs saved, but is worth -8 in right field and -6 in center for a combined -15 overall defensive runs saved as an outfielder.
Freeman, meanwhile, is very clearly not a right fielder, worth -10 defensive runs saved there this season. This isn’t surprising, though. He made just one professional appearance in the outfield prior to 2024 when the Cleveland Guardians had him make 97 appearances in center field. Before that he was primarily a middle infielder.
The problem is that he’s not a particularly good middle infielder either.
In an admittedly small sample size, Freeman is worth -4 defensive runs saved with an error in 44 innings at second base this season.
The Rockies don’t want to lose the offense that Moniak and Freeman bring to the table, so they have to play somewhere. However, the bad they do in the field is offsetting all the good they do at the plate. Moniak is worth -0.3 bWAR while Freeman is worth -0.7 bWAR.
It’s a bit reminiscent of Dante Bichette’s 1999 season during which he was worth a staggering -2.3 bWAR despite being one of the best hitters in baseball that season.
Defense has long been a strength of the Colorado Rockies, even through many consecutive seasons of losing baseball. Things may be starting to balance out as new faces take over while the Gold Glovers are finding their form, but the staggeringly poor defense of the 2025 Rockies is just one more thing that needs to be fixed if this organization is to have any hope for the future.
Triple-A: Oklahoma City Comets 9, Albuquerque Isotopes 5
It was another tough start for Kyle Brnovich, who gave up eight earned runs on four walks and six hits—including three home runs—over 3 2/3 innings. The Isotopes bullpen was actually rock solid, with Karl Kauffmann giving up one earned run in 1 2/3 innings while Carson Palmquist and Brayan Castillo both worked scoreless 1 1/3 outings. However, the offense couldn’t pull themselves out of the hole they were buried in. Sam Hilliard went 2-for-5 with a home run and a double while Adael Amador had two singles.
Double-A: Harrisburg Senators 11, Hartford Yard Goats 2
The Senators completed their six game sweep of the Yard Goats with another drubbing—their second straight loss giving up 11 runs. Starting pitcher Jack Mahoney lasted just 2 2/3 innings and gave up seven earned runs, including a grand slam in the third inning. Meanwhile, the Yard Goats offense couldn’t get going at all. They had just three hits, including a Charlie Condon solo home run and a Cole Carrigg RBI double.
High-A: Vancouver Canadians 6, Spokane Indians 1
It was another tough outing for Josh Grosz since he arrived from the Yankees organization. In a five inning start he gave up six earned runs on seven hits and four walks, with two home runs. The Indians bullpen held the Canadians scoreless for the next four innings, but the offense couldn’t retaliate. The Indians had eight hits, but went just 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position and had just one extra-base hit. They were unable to come up with the clutch hits to drive in runners.
Low-A: Fresno Grizzlies 8, Stockton Ports 1
The Grizzlies ran away with the victory in the farm system’s best win of the day. Jackson Cox spun five scoreless innings while giving up just two hits and striking out seven batters. At the plate, Kevin Fitzer was just a single away from the cycle in a 3-for-5 afternoon with three RBIs. Roldy Brito, Ethan Holliday, and Tanner Thach all continued to feast in Low-A with multi-hit games as well.
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One of the most memorable parts of the Rockies’ comeback victory against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday was the final play of the game. Juan Mejia strayed far from the mound and made a leaping catch of a Ketel Marte pop-up. He was then promptly bulldozed by Warming Bernabel. Mejia fooled both his teammates and the viewers by staying down after the hit, but was riding high after earning his first career save.
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Young Rockies closer Victor Vodnik has many skills on the mound as he pumps gas past his opponents. He also has a special skill most people wouldn’t think of: plumbing. It runs in the Vodnik family dating back to his grandfather, Tony, who has a storied history of his own.
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