COLORADO ROCKIES
2025 finish: record (43-119, 5th in NL West)
Manager: Warren Schaeffer (2nd season, 36-86)
Leading the front office: Paul DePodesta, president of baseball operations (1st season)
DOLLARS AND SENSE
Largest luxury tax hit: OF Kris Bryant ($26 million)
Top returning players: C Hunter Goodman (3.4 fWAR), OF Jordan Beck (1.3), SS Ezequiel Tovar (0.9)
Top returning starting pitchers: LHP Kyle Freeland (2.5), Tanner Gordon (0.6), RHP Ryan Feltner (0.4)
Top returning relievers: RHP Jimmy Herget (1.3), RHP Juan Mejia (0.7), RHP Victor Vodnik (0.5)
ROSTER WATCH
Key additions: INF Willi Castro (free agent), OF Jake McCarthy (trade), INF Edouard Julien (trade), RHP Michael Lorenzen (free agent), LHP Brennan Bernardino (trade), RHP Keegan Thompson (waivers), C Brett Sullivan (minors), INF Nicky Lopez (minors), RHP John Brebbia (minors).
Key losses: RHP German Marquez (free agent), INF Thairo Estrada (free agent), LHP Austin Gomber (free agent), INF Orlando Arcia (free agent), INF Kyle Farmer (free agent), C Jacob Stallings (free agent), 1B Michael Toglia (free agent), C Drew Romo (waivers), RHP Angel Chivilli (trade), RHP Bradley Blalock (trade).
Baseball America top-100 prospect(s): SS Ethan Holliday (80).
Colorado Rockies catcher Hunter Goodman (15) speaks with press during Rockies Fest on Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, at Coors Field in Denver, Colo. (Photo by Timothy Hurst/The Denver Post)
KEEP AN EYE ON
The Rockies have five postseason appearances in 33 years, none since 2018, are coming off the third-worst season since 1900 and have yet to solve how to build a consistent contender in Denver’s mile-high, thin air. Perhaps a new-look front office can cut through stiff headwinds. Paul DePodesta, a supporting character in Moneyball (the book, not the movie), is jumping back into baseball to lead the front office after a decade working for the Cleveland Browns and he’s hired former Padres GM Josh Byrnes away from the Dodgers to be his top lieutenant.
Chronic injuries have limited USD’s Kris Bryant to 170 games in four years since signing a seven-year, $182 million deal and a lumbar degenerative disc disease limited him to just 11 games last year. Bryant said last year he had no plans to retire, but the Rockies have seemingly built their 2026 plans without the 34-year-old in mind.
Even without Bryant, the Rockies will find guys to hit — C Hunter Goodman came out of nowhere to hit 31 homers and win a Silver Slugger Award — so the problem that DePodesta has to solve is finding pitching. Their only starter last year with an ERA under 6.30 was LHP Kyle Freeland (4.98) and he led the majors with 17 losses.
Fangraphs projection: 65.0 wins