Denver Post sports writer Patrick Saunders with the latest installment of his Rockies Mailbag.
Pose a Rockies- or MLB-related question for the Rockies Mailbag.
What will it take for (owner) Dick Monfort to make major changes in the front office and player development? It’s obvious the Rockies’ current philosophy doesn’t work and needs a complete overhaul. I am concerned that they will focus on slight improvements in the second half of the season and think they can maintain the status quo.
— Jeff Smith, Denver
Jeff, your question and your concerns are on the minds of many Rockies fans I talk to.
You ask, “What will it take?” If seven consecutive losing seasons, three consecutive 100-loss seasons, and one of the worst seasons in major league history aren’t enough to convince Monfort to make changes in the front office and rethink his own role, nothing will.
I, too, am concerned that the Rockies’ “slight” improvement in the second half will convince Monfort to make only minor changes. However, the truth is that the Rockies need significant changes on the baseball side. They need to bring in someone from the outside to take a fresh look at the team. I’ve been saying that for years. I’m surprised it hasn’t happened yet.
The Rockies are being very tight-lipped about the future of the front office. Walker Monfort, Dick’s oldest son, was promoted to executive vice president in late June. I imagine that he has been working on a reorganization plan. I’ve asked many people in the organization if they know what’s going to happen, and they all basically say, “I don’t have a clue.”
Whatever happens, I don’t think it will be revealed until the end of the season.
Here is my prediction on what will happen: The Rockies will hire someone from outside the organization as president of baseball operations, who will oversee the overhaul of the baseball side of the franchise. Walker Monfort will have a hand in that project, but will be involved mainly with the business side of the club.
The new team president will replace current general manager Bill Schmidt, but I don’t know if the new GM will come from outside the organization. Schmidt will be offered some role in the organization, although I am unsure if he’ll accept it.
There won’t be a “complete overhaul,” because there are talented people in the organization who have a working knowledge of the team that needs to be maintained.
Good day, Patrick. Thank you for your great coverage in another regrettable season. Since starting pitching is probably the most concerning aspect of the team, what type of pitcher, and pitches, profiles best for the conundrum that is altitude? The disparity of throwing at 5,280 feet, then at sea-level stadiums, has never been solved on a consistent basis. Which is worse, the drafting or developing? Take care.
— Robert Emmerling, Limon
Robert, thanks for your continued readership and for your interaction on X (Twitter). The pitching conundrum will always dog the Rockies. That’s simply the reality of baseball at altitude. The Rockies have attempted various strategies over the years, including developing an army of sinkerball pitchers. The current plan is not to target a specific type of pitcher as much as it is to try to shape talent. Rookie right-hander Chase Dollander is that type of pitcher — blessed with extraordinary talent — though he’s been terrible at Coors Field this season, but good on the road.
The pitch that seems to work well, year after year, when properly thrown, is the changeup. Combined with a sizzling fastball, the changeup is an effective pitch at Coors. But it’s also a tough pitch to master.
Hi Patrick, with German Marquez‘s pending free agency and the likelihood he won’t re-sign, why don’t the Rockies designate him for assignment and give his final starts and opportunity to a prospect?
— Keith Bailey, Aurora
Keith, on the surface, that might seem like a good idea, but I disagree with your premise. Given the state of the starting rotation and the lack of quality prospects ready for the majors, it doesn’t make any sense to cut Marquez and throw a young pitcher into the fire in mid-September.
The Rockies don’t have good enough starters in the minors right now, except perhaps Sean Sullivan or Gabriel Hughes. However, I don’t think the team wants to start their “major league clocks” yet.
The bullpen is already overtaxed, and although Marquez is not pitching well, he at least has the talent to pitch five or six innings and save bullpen arms.
Finally, Marquez has been a warrior for the Rockies. I think the organization needs to show him respect and let him finish out his Rockies career in a classy way. It’s not as if the team can salvage anything in the final three weeks of the season.
Hello Patrick. Why is it that the schedule for an upcoming MLB season is released way in advance — before the end of a preceding season — whereas there is only a two-month window between an NBA schedule release and the start of an NBA season?
— David Herrera, Questa, N.M.
David, I honestly don’t know. Perhaps it’s because the season is so long and has to correspond with spring training. If someone else knows the answer, let us know.
Patrick, why did MLB give the Rockies such a killer schedule in April 2026? There are 27 games, all against current playoff teams from this season except for the Reds, and they are close. I also see no sense in the Rockies completing their season’s six-game home-and-home series with the Houston Astros by April 16.
— Dom, Longmont
Dom, the reason is that Major League Baseball hates the Rockies! I’m kidding, of course. There are so many variables in a 162-game schedule that quirky things are bound to happen. There is no getting around it. Weather, conflicting dates, miles teams have to travel, on and on it goes. If you want a good primer on the making of the MLB schedule, check out this column from Jayson Stark.
I actually really like the Rockies’ post-All-Star break, young, scrappy, and contact-heavy lineup. I think with added experience, the lineup and bullpen could be playoff-worthy by 2027. This rotation is atrocious, however. Does some combination of Chase Dollander, Ryan Feltner, Gabriel Hughes, Sean Sullivan and others (Konner Eaton, Griffin Herring, McCade Brown, etc.) have a shot at being a new wave of good Rockies pitching like we saw in 2017-18? Or is there a chance the Rockies trade from their glut of outfielders to improve the rotation?
— Isaac Bowen, Fort Collins
Isaac, I’m not as optimistic about the lineup as you are, though there’s a chance that the Rockies could be a .500 team in 2027 — but only if we are considering young position players such as catcher Hunter Goodman, shortstop Ezequiel Tovar, and outfielders Jordan Beck and Brenton Doyle. If third baseman Kyle Karros develops and first base prospect Charlie Condon becomes a power hitter at the major league level, the Rockies could field a strong lineup.
However, as you mentioned, the starting rotation is a mess. And currently, the windows of opportunity for starting pitching and position players don’t align. Next year, I see a rotation of Kyle Freeland, Chase Dollander, Tanner Gordon, Ryan Feltner and Sean Sullivan. Gabriel Hughes has a shot, too. Feltner, who’s missed almost the entire season with back and shoulder injuries, is a concern. So is Dollander’s inability to pitch well at Coors Field.
As for your final point, yes, the Rockies need to trade one or two of their outfield prospects for a major league starter who could help bolster the rotation for a season or two.
Rockies’ historically bad rotation needs ‘next wave of young starters’ to succeed
Patrick, who are some possible free-agent additions for the Rockies? And what’s your best guess as to who will be managing them?
— Jeffrey, Illinois
Jeffrey, I’m going to pass on your first question because I would be just guessing about free agents, especially since I don’t know who will be running Colorado’s front office. That said, I don’t see the Rockies being very active in the free-agent market.
As for who will manage the Rockies in 2026, I believe that interim manager Warren Schaeffer will be considered, given his decent job with a young team that has struggled with terrible starting pitching. But, again, so much depends on the front office. If there is significant turnover, Schaeffer could be out if a new team president or GM wants to bring in his own man. Or Schaeffer could be in if a new boss wants some sense of continuity. I hate to be so obtuse, but the picture of the Rockies’ future is not very clear at the moment.
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