Last season, the Rockies finished with the fewest wins in Major League Baseball. Afterwards, the team made significant changes to its structure, bringing in Moneyball mogul Paul DePodesta to run baseball operations. So what did the new front office do in its first offseason? Focus on tools.

Additions

The Rockies have, for most of the franchise’s tenure, had problems filling out the rotation. Colorado’s new front office added several veteran starting pitchers to the fold in 2026, a departure from norms given how hard it is to woo help.

Granted, the names added weren’t massive ones. Pierson Ohl, who missed a lot of bats last season in the Twins’ Minor League season, was acquired from Minnesota alongside Edouard Julien. Tomoyuki Sugano, who spent 2025 in Baltimore, signed with the Rockies, as well.

Sugano, as noted in February when he signed, has a lot of different pitches, which is a hallmark of his game of trying to keep hitters off balance. However, Sugano gave up a lot of home runs in Baltimore, something that he’ll have to stave off in 2026.

The most notable pitching addition was Michael Lorenzen, who’s had several years of success with the Royals, Phillies, and Tigers, among other teams.

Lorenzen is an interesting pitcher — and it’s not hard to see why the Rockies liked him. The right-hander has the same kind of game as Sugano, which is to throw the kitchen sink at hitters. But unlike the former, Lorenzen has better velocity and has a good out pitch in his changeup.

When he signed with the Rockies, we noted that Lorenzen wasn’t a big groundball pitcher. He did have a sinker in his repertoire, and it was used almost 20% of the time in total last season. If the spring was any indication, expect to see a lot more of it in 2026.

Spring is a good time to work on things, so pitch usage should be taken with a grain of salt. However, Lorenzen used over 25% of the time in most of his starts.

As for the offense, the Rockies targeted tools.

It’s hard to find a faster runner than Jake McCarthy, who could be very valuable if he gets time to play a tricky left field in Coors Field. And Willi Castro can play almost every position in the field, valuable on its own. Never mind that Castro was good offensively for the most part in 2024 and 2025.

Losses

It’s a long list, comprised of veterans not brought back, plus some former top prospects in the system.

Drew Romo was a former first-round pick who had no path behind the plate in Colorado. Michael Toglia’s swing-and-miss problems did him in despite prodigious power. Yanquiel Fernandez, one of the most aggressive hitters in baseball, was not retained despite what was a decent initial run as a Major Leaguer.

However, Fernandez’s deficiencies, including being a true DH-only hitter, make it tough to find a spot for him.

Overview

The Rockies’ new front office has a lot of work ahead of it. However, it does help that there are some building blocks to work with. Namely, Brenton Doyle, Hunter Goodman, Ezequiel Tovar, and the hope that Chase Dollander can succeed in Coors Field.

Don’t expect the Rockies to be a playoff competitor in 2026. That’s just not realistic, for many different reasons. But if the Rockies can do a better job of piecing together games on the mound, as well as see someone like Brenton Doyle have a bounce-back season, that would be something to celebrate.

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