On the heels of one of the worst seasons in MLB history, Colorado Rockies general manager Bill Schmidt stepped down on Wednesday. The move is a departure for an organization that has resisted significant leadership changes under the ownership of the Monfort family.

Executive vice president Walker Monfort said in a news release that the team is “setting our sights on finding the right leader from outside our organization who can bring a fresh perspective to the Rockies and enhance our baseball operations with a new vision, innovation, and a focus on both short and long-term success. This change delivers an opportunity to shape the future of our club and move forward into a new era of Rockies baseball.”

Schmidt’s exit comes just days after the Rockies finished a humiliating 2025 season in which they lost an MLB-worst 119 games and ended with the worst run differential (minus-424 runs) in the sport’s history.

The Colorado Rockies announced today that Bill Schmidt has stepped down from his role as general manager.

The Rockies will begin an external search for a new head of baseball operations immediately. pic.twitter.com/z1zKVzlJFQ

— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) October 1, 2025

In May, the Rockies fired manager Bud Black after the team got off to a 7-33 start. Interim manager Warren Schaeffer, whose status for 2026 is unknown, took over the team on May 11 and went 36-86 the rest of the season. Black posted winning records his first two years as the Rockies manager but never had a winning percentage above .460 in the seven seasons that followed. The Rockies last made the postseason in 2018, Black’s second season as manager.

Schmidt spent four seasons as senior vice president and general manager of the Rockies but has been with the organization since 1999 and led the team’s scouting department for more than 20 years. During his four-plus seasons as GM, the Rockies lost at least 100 games three times and won no more than 74 games in any single season.

“As with any transition, Bill’s departure allows our club to seek a new leader of our baseball department experienced in areas where we know we need to grow within the operation,” said Dick Monfort, the club’s owner, chairman and CEO. “A new voice will benefit our organization as we work towards giving our fans the competitive team they deserve.”

Schmidt became the Rockies’ interim general manager in May 2021, following the resignation of then-GM Jeff Bridich. He was given the full GM title after the 2021 season. Before that season, the Rockies traded star third baseman Nolan Arenado to the St. Louis Cardinals, a significant turning point for an organization that at one time featured Arenado as the face of the franchise. Schmidt attempted to bring a new face of the franchise to Colorado following the 2021 season, signing free agent Kris Bryant to a seven-year, $182 million deal. The contract has been a disaster for the team, as Bryant has struggled with a back injury that has limited him to just 170 games in the past four seasons. He’s been worth minus-1.6 bWAR in those games. He underwent an ablation surgery on his back in May to address his chronic lumbar degenerative disc disease. His status for next season isn’t yet known.

At this year’s trade deadline, the Rockies made two deals with the New York Yankees, sending infielder Ryan McMahon and reliever Jake Bird in separate moves to New York in return for four prospects. The Athletic’s Jim Bowden gave the Rockies a “B-” grade for their July deals, crediting them for being more aggressive after they elected not to make any significant moves a year earlier.

The Rockies will now be tasked with finding a new general manager willing to take on the hefty task of improving a team that allowed 1,021 runs in 2025, the most allowed by any team since the Rockies gave up 1,028 runs in 1999. That 90-loss team also scored 906 runs. This year’s Rockies club struggled on both sides of the ball, scoring just 597 runs, second-fewest in MLB.

There may be some help from the farm system on the way. The Rockies took Oklahoma high school shortstop Ethan Holliday — son of franchise legend Matt Holliday — with the No. 4 pick in this year’s MLB Draft. Holliday was the consensus No. 1 prospect heading into the draft and he is currently ranked 20th in The Athletic’s Keith Law’s latest top 60 MLB prospect rankings. Not far behind him on the list is 2024 No. 3 pick Charlie Condon, who posted an .820 OPS in his first full minor-league season and is likely to start next year in Triple A.

But the Rockies have work to do to improve their pitching staff, which featured a disappointing rookie season from 2023 first-round pick Chase Dollander, who had a 6.52 ERA in 21 starts and ended the season on the injured list with a left patella tendon strain.

Because they have selected in the top 10 the past three seasons, the Rockies are ineligible to participate in the MLB Draft lottery that will set the top nine picks this December.

(Photo of Schmidt, left: Andy Cross / MediaNews Group / The Denver Post via Getty Images)