Paul DePodesta’s plan for a methodical rebuild of the Colorado Rockies continues, with part of the plan being a heavy reliance on bringing in people who know analytics. And if that person also knows something about a team coping with the mile high altitude issue that continually hangs over the franchise, then so much the better.
DePodesta’s hire as the newly created “President of Baseball Operations” position for the Rockies back on November 14th was greeted with curiosity around baseball. The former Oakland A’s executive who was part of “Moneyball” era alongside Billy Beane, had been out of baseball for a decade while working in the Cleveland Brown’s NFL front office. Could he still work effectively in Major League Baseball after being gone for so long?
Thus far, his roster moves have been subtle.
Rockies Will Retain Manager Warren Schaffer
There’s also been the announcement of the retention of Manager Warren Schaffer, who had his “interim” tag removed on November 24th. Schaffer will get a chance to manage the team from the start of the spring training for the first time in his brief MLB career.
A completed new-look Rockies front office was the last piece to the puzzle – for 2026 at least – and things have fallen into place now with the hiring of Josh Brynes as the Rockies General Manager.
Brynes Brings a Full Resume Back to Coors Field
Brynes is well traveled and has a solid resume after spending time in the front office of the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Arizona Diamondbacks in recent years. He and DePodesta have worked together before, and he’s also a former Rockies Assistant GM under Dan O’Dowd back in 1999. He spent three seasons dealing with baseball at altitude, which remains an issue that needs attention at Coors Field. His hiring has been greeted with applause.
Rockies fans are now hopeful that with MLB’s Winter Meetings set to start next week and a new GM in place, that perhaps the team will be active in the trade market, and even consider some roster upgrades via the free agent route. No hints have been given in terms of who the Rockies might be willing to part with in order to acquire some young, big league talent to continue to build with.
Colorado has three young “cornerstone” players currently on the roster. Centerfielder Brenton Doyle and shortstop Ezequiel Tovar are both two-time Gold Glove winners, and catcher Hunter Goodman was an All-Star last season and the winner of the Silver Slugger Award. In past years under previous front offices, players like these three would be 100% off limits in terms of trade talks. In the past the Rockies have been steadfastly against trading young, inexpensive talent that they feel have connected with the fanbase. Previous trades of players like D J LeMahieu and Nolan Arenado have proven to be disastrous for the franchise. The flip side hasn’t been much better, with players coming to Colorado failing to make much of an impact.
Will Brynes familiarity with the Rockies and the National League West – plus the coveted “fresh set of eyes” he’s bringing – be able to help change these trends?
Rockies followers will get their first indication next week.
Brynes and DePodesta also have the issue of what to do with Kris Bryant and his enormous contract to deal with. Bryant remains in the middle of a seven-year, $182 million contract and there is no sign that he will physically be able to contribute anything on the field for the remainder of the deal. Bryant is dealing with arthritis in his back, officially termed degenerative disc disease. He remains on the injured list.
Can the new GM make any kind of a deal with Bryant’s agent, Scott Boras, to get some financial relief for the Rockies? Stay tuned.
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