It’s Christmas Eve, and the Colorado Rockies have been hard at work trying to better themselves for the 2026 season. The front office has been mixed up, and the big league coaching staff has taken shape. The players are all nestled in their beds and dreaming of home runs and slick plays with their stockings hung by their lockers with care. ‘Tis the season of giving, so here are some gifts I would leave for some of the Rockies heading into 2026.
Hunter Goodman – A Repeat of 2025
2025 was no doubt a spectacular year for Hunter Goodman. He statistically put up not just the best offensive season for a Rockies catcher, but it was among the best for a catcher in MLB history in various aspects. He was the best Rockies player in 2025 and so it’s only right that his gift be a repeat in 2026. The Rockies have seen their top player take a severe dive in the following season (see Nolan Jones after 2023 and Brenton Doyle after 2024), which makes it hard to sustain any sort of team momentum when players are always just a flash in the pan. Goodman showed consistency throughout the season, so there is hope that this year wasn’t just a fluke and that he can repeat the success and lead the Rockies’ offense to greater heights.
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Ezequiel Tovar & Brenton Doyle – Gold Gloves
One of the hardest parts about the 2025 season was that Ezequiel Tovar and Brenton Doyle struggled throughout the year. Injuries robbed Tovar of a lot of playing time, while Doyle dealt with injuries and off-field tragedy for his family. However, we did see flashes of their old selves at the plate, which would be a major step forward for 2026, but it was their top-tier defense that was sorely missed. My gift to them is to reclaim their crowns in their respective positions. Doyle is undoubtedly the best center fielder the franchise has ever had patrolling center field. He dealt with inexperienced players in the corners, and that took a toll on his defensive metrics, among other things, but as the year went on, he was able to dazzle in the outfield and show why he’s already a two-time Gold Glove in center. Hip issues hindered Tovar, as well as the inconsistency on the field. Should he remain healthy, there is no doubt he can rise to the top again as the league’s top shortstop defensively.
Chase Dollander – Coors Field Comfort
It was a rough year for the Rockies’ top pitching prospect. The ninth overall pick of the 2023 draft was rushed to the majors earlier than he probably should have been and struggled to find consistency throughout the year. Dollander fell victim to an issue as old as time in Colorado, of severe struggles at home, followed by quality performance on the road. In 11 starts at Coors, he posted a 9.98 ERA with 12 home runs surrendered over 42 innings of work. In 10 road starts, he had a 3.46 ERA with six home runs allowed over 52 innings of work. With the new pitching corps established in the front office and the dugout, the hope is that players like Dollander can learn to pitch better at Coors Field and close the gap in the disparity between home and away. He has the talent, now hopefully he gets the tools to help utilize it better.
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Jimmy Herget – A Rubber Arm
Jimmy Herget was a revelation for the Rockies’ bullpen in 2025. He ate up plenty of innings for an ineffective starting rotation and likely saved multiple other relievers’ arms throughout the season. He had to record more than three outs over 30 times this season, more than any other reliever in baseball, and did so to incredible success. Now, my gift to him is a brand new arm made of rubber. The hope is that he could have a lighter workload than last season, and that 2025 was detrimental to his health. We’ve seen what can happen to an overworked player like Jake Bird and Justin Lawrence and it would be a shame if the same happened to Herget. If push comes to shove, a rubber arm would come in handy if he has to take on more of work load, especially if the Rockies execute the potential idea of having him start.
Jordan Beck – A 20/20 season
It was a quietly decent season for Jordan Beck in 2025, but there is still a lot of room for growth for the young outfielder. While he managed 16 home runs on the year, his power was still a little inconsistent. Outside of the five home runs in three games he hit back in April, Beck averaged about two long balls a month the rest of the season. He took a major step forward at the plate across the board, but finding a consistent power stroke would be a major development for him. He has the potential to blast at least 20 home runs a season and after leading the team with 19 stolen bases, a 20/20 season is definitely in the cards for Beck. The Rockies had 20/20 players in Jones and Doyle in 2023 and 2024, respectively, and Beck reaching that mark in 2026 would be a huge boon for the offense.
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Starting Rotation – Durability and Quality Starts
The Rockies’ starting rotation posted the worst ERA since the stat became official back in the early 1900s, so hopefully, there is nowhere to go but up, right? A major factor for the rotation was that there was little to no length coming out of the group, the majority of the time. Tanner Gordon started to help out near the end of the season, but still, effectiveness wasn’t always there. In order to get through a season, the Rockies need their pitchers to not only stay healthy but also be durable enough to work a little deeper into games if possible. Five or six innings is the norm these days before handing things off to the bullpen. The best thing we could give the starting rotation is the ability to limit runs and leave the team in a position to win ball games. Quality starts are a meaningful stat for a reason, and from the perspective of the Rockies, three runs or fewer over six innings feels like a miracle sometimes.
When in doubt, a nice pair of socks or a gift card is always a nice alternative when it comes down to it, and some of these gifts aren’t possible.
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With Josh Byrnes joining the Rockies, could that lay the groundwork for the first player trade between the Dodgers and Colorado since 2014? Katrina Stebbins thinks so and hopes that a trade for Brenton Doyle could come to fruition. Though I think it’s quite unlikely the Rockies deal with LA anytime soon.
This week, Evan Lang is joined by Rockies Insider Patrick Lyons to talk about the offseason and his takeaways from the Winter Meetings. I was unable to join the episode because I was sick.
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