Look, I’m just going to say it: It’s a weird time to be a fan of the Colorado Rockies.

Like me, you probably are well conditioned to the rhythms of a typical Rockies offseason: It starts with a few minor coaching changes and maybe some DFA’s and a non-tender or two. Then Dick Monfort sends out his yearly letter to fans explaining (again) how the season that just ended was a disappointment and promising to do better. There’s a holiday Dinger video and some minor-league signings that eventually find themselves on the MLB roster.

And then it’s time for spring training as the preface to another losing season.

This year, Walker Monfort has taken the reins and hired Paul DePodesta as president of baseball operations. The changes have been fast and furious and — I’ll be honest here — a little disorienting.

Grant Brisbee pretty much sums things up with this post:

You know, I’m okay with the disorientation.

Reader, I want all the disorientation, all the rebuilding, all the “Please ignore our mess” as the new Colorado Rockies are being built. But I have to say that it’s taken a bit of adjusting on my part.

Since being hired, DePodesta has taken on the charge like a man possessed, and if you’re a regular Purple Rower, you know we’ve been covering a flurry of moves: a new general manager, Josh Byrnes (a former Los Angeles Dodger, no less); a new senior vice president and chief revenue and strategy officer, Nicky Schmidt; new front office personnel; a new coaching staff led by Alon Leichman on the pitching side and Brett Pill on the hitting side; and a new bench coach, Jeff Pickler.

The only real holdover from The Before Times is manager Warren Schaeffer and some of his coaching staff, but the decision to retain him becomes even clearer in light of all the other changes. He and his returning staff are the bridge between what’s coming and a very young clubhouse. Helping establish continuity between the old regime and the new will also be Scott Oberg and Clint Hurdle in roles that are not yet clearly defined.

Look, trust and some degree of stability matter in any kind of undertaking like this one.

In addition, Schaeffer is going to be using his communication skills to ensure everyone is on the same page.

And that’s before DePodesta and his staff turn their attention to building a roster.

When the Rockies embarked on this project there were — understandably, I think — some questions on the part of fans and perhaps parts of the media as to the sincerity of this undertaking. After all, the Rockies had promised to get better before only to, well, not get better.

What we’re watching here, as DePodesta builds his staff, is an exercise of trust. Just as a young Rockies team learned to trust Schaeffer last season, the new front office personnel and coaches have put their reputations on the line and must trust that Walker Monfort is going to support this change. This new leadership team is significantly younger than the former one, as Joelle Milholm has pointed out, and significantly less connected to the organization through loyalty.

But they’re nerdier, too — a lot nerdier — a characteristic apparent on their résumés and the winning histories of the teams they’ve chosen to leave. And lest we forget, they have opted to leave some of the best teams in MLB to one join of the historically worst.

There are two things at work here, I think.

First, they are trusting Paul DePodesta and Josh Byrnes. Both are front office leaders with histories of winning, and their reputations are key to the front office restart we are watching.

Second, like all good baseball nerds, they are drawn to the Siren song of Coors Field and trying to solve the ultimate baseball question: Is it possible to play winning baseball at elevation?

In answer, they are bringing their best and nerdiest ideas.

As Byrnes put it when asked about coming changes, “Reimaging it and just thinking, what might work, what might not work. See of it runs across any ballpark, and some of it is specific to Coors (Field).
”

Here’s DePodesta when Leichman’s hiring was announced:

“Some of the conversations we’ve had with some of these pitching folks, they’ve said, ‘Well, what do you think about this? Or what do you think about that?’ . . . . And I’ve told them everything is on the table. We’re just approaching it with a very open mindset. We know there are things that have been tried, and we want to learn from those as best we can, too.

We also have some good, objective data internally about some different things that may work, and other things maybe not so much. We’ve already had some interesting discussions, and I’m really encouraged about the direction it’s already heading.”

It’s a baseball nerd club built on analytics and trust— with DePodesta being one of the original baseball nerds whose story was codified by Michael Lewis. And it’s exactly what the Colorado Rockies need.

DePodesta also made this remark, according to Thomas Harding, which is worth noting:

“You’ll notice a lot of these people have a wide range of experience in different areas. . . . But they have this foundation in evaluation, and whether that’s with amateur players or pro players or advance scouting work, that foundation is really important.”

So there appear to be two main initiatives for 2026: The first involves building infrastructure, and we’re watching that happen now. The second is about player evaluation. The new team will be inventorying the Rockies roster and making decisions about the players who will stay and those who will be moved on.

And in the same way DePodesta is building trust with his staff and the Rockies roster, he’s going to be building trust with fans.

Actually, who cares about disorientation?

Sign me up. I, too, wish to be a member of the Mile High Nerd Club.

For your viewing pleasure

Please enjoy this video of the Colorado Rockies — well, mostly Hunter Goodman — smacking some baseballs.

DePodesta left MLB in 2015. How has the game changed since then? | MLB.com

Travis Sawchik offers Rockies president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta a quick review of what he’s missed during the 10 years he spent in the NFL.

Murakami’s deal is a huge whiff for the Phillies and these 5 MLB teams | FanSided

Would it have been cool for the Rockies to sign Murakami? Sure. Was it necessary. No.

Touching Base: MLB Managers Share the Most Important Part of Their Job in 2026 | Fox Sports

Warren Schaeffer makes an appearance in this Rowan Kavner article. And that most important part of his job? Communication. “I learned that I would love to have more conversations on a daily basis with players,” Schaeffer said. “I think that’s a big strength of mine. I need to utilize it more often, develop leaders behind closed doors.”

To Schaeffer’s comment, Kavner adds this: “Almost universally, front-office executives and big-league skippers polled at the Winter Meetings agreed that the ability to communicate well was the most vital trait of a good manager in today’s game.”

Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks!