The Rockies Have Reached Historic Levels of Prolonged Futility

Hey, at least they’re finally notable for something.

If you forgot about the Colorado Rockies, no one could blame you. The franchise has been largely irrelevant for most of the last decade, and that ineptitude has turned Coors Field into Denver's equivalent of the Pit of Despair, a hellish dungeon from which there is no escape for those who enter. Sure, that may be a touch of hyperbole, but have you spoken to a Rockies fan recently? It’s not exactly sunshine and rainbows in that fan base.

On Tuesday, Colorado fell 7–2 to the Diamondbacks, securing their fourth consecutive 100-loss season. The Rox are the first franchise to have that happen since the New York Mets did so from 1962 to ‘65. The difference is that the Mets were an expansion franchise in ‘62, while the Rockies have been around for more than 30 years.

Colorado’s current run has drawn comparisons to those Mets, though the Rockies never reached the depths of New York’s inaugural season. That 1962 team was so bad it spawned a book from the great Jimmy Breslin entitled “Can’t Anybody Here Play This Game?” The Fighting Marv Throneberrys went 40–120 and set a modern-era record for losses that wasn’t eclipsed until the 2024 White Sox surpassed it with 121.

The title of Breslin’s book is a quote attributed to exasperated Hall of Fame manager Casey Stengel, whose final act in baseball was managing those Mets teams. It would be fair for Rockies fans to be asking the same question right about now.

Eight Years of Futility, Four of Historic Failure

Colorado Rockies owner Dick Monfort — Rockies owner Dick Monfort has overseen a near decade of futility. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Rockies haven’t been to the postseason since 2018, when they were swept in the NLDS by the Brewers. Since then, they are 459–729 (.386 winning percentage, the equivalent of a 63-win pace). The last four seasons have been particularly awful.

In 2023, Colorado went 59–103 to secure the first 100-loss season in franchise history. In ’24, they went 61–101, then bottomed out at 43–119 in ’25.

As you would expect in Colorado, the pitching has been abysmal during this stretch. The Rockies have ranked dead last in ERA in each of the past three seasons and, barring a historic last-minute turnaround, they’ll do it again in 2026. No one has figured out how to pitch and win from the mound consistently at Coors Field. The park opened on Blake Street in 1995, and that fundamental challenge hasn’t changed since. It’s a different breed of baseball than any other team has to play, and in more than 30 years, the franchise has yet to figure out what works there.

It’s easy for us all to throw up our hands at the pitching failures because the team plays on the baseball equivalent of the moon. But a core job of a franchise in any sport is to turn its home venue into an advantage. Colorado's failure to develop a formula for fielding at least a competent pitching staff is an organizational failure. This year’s starting rotation has an ERA of 6.20, which ranks last in MLB. The Rockies haven’t had a winning record at home since 2022. Failures in drafting, developing and acquiring pitching talent, combined with the inability to find a blueprint for success at Coors, have doomed the franchise.

Loads of Losses With Very Little Payoff

After all that losing, Colorado should have built a top farm system, with a wave of talent on the way. That hasn’t happened. Yes, the Rockies have some solid players in their system, but not enough talent to reverse this trend.

Ethan Holliday, the No. 4 pick in the 2025 draft, ranked 14th on our midseason prospect rankings, while second baseman/outfielder Roldy Brito ranked 32nd. Neither has reached Double A yet. Former top-five pick Charlie Condon had a good season at Triple A, but wasn’t in our top 50, while this year’s first-rounder, Tyler Bell, ripped the ball at Kentucky, but needs shoulder surgery before starting his pro career. MLB Pipeline currently has the system ranked 16th in baseball, a significant improvement after starting the season at No. 27, but hardly the prospect stockpile you’d expect after four straight 100-loss seasons.

The Rockies have produced a group of players in their mid-20s like rookie TJ Rumfeld, Adael Amador and Cole Carrigg who look like decent pieces. Pitcher and former No. 9 overall pick Chase Dollander was having a good season before blowing out his elbow. There are pieces here, but it’s far from a complete core. Catcher Hunter Goodman is a genuine success story, but one All-Star and a handful of complementary young guys aren’t much return for years at the bottom of the league.

Colorado has had a top-10 pick in each of the last seven drafts and has yet to run into a bona fide star. That is an almost unimaginable failure of scouting and player development.

The $182 Million Mistake

Colorado Rockies designated hitter Kris Bryant (23) looks on from the dugout — Kris Bryant has played just 48 games for the Rockies in the last three seasons, and none since April 12, 2025. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

After three consecutive losing seasons, the Rockies decided to take a big swing on a former MVP in March 2022. They inked Kris Bryant to a seven-year, $182 million deal to become the new face of the franchise. The deal came just over a year after trading organizational cornerstone Nolan Arenado to the Cardinals and days before the team allowed shortstop Trevor Story to walk, as he signed with the Red Sox. It was a puzzling series of decisions.

It’s safe to say the deal hasn’t worked out.

In five years with the franchise, Bryant has only played in 170 games. In that time, he has slashed .244/.324/.370 with 17 home runs, 61 RBIs and -1.6 bWAR. He was a declining player when Colorado signed him, but persistent back issues have forced him off the field for much of his tenure. His playing future remains in doubt.

Bryant is due $26 million in 2027 and ‘28 before he’ll finally be off the books. His contract currently accounts for roughly 23% of Colorado’s payroll. The deal has turned into one of the worst in MLB history. The Bryant contract is an enduring symbol of the Rockies’ organizational dysfunction. It was ill-advised at the time and has only looked worse with age.

Is Change Coming?

Rockies president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta — The Rockies hired Paul DePodesta to run its baseball operations last offseason. | Kyle Cooper/Getty Images

The 119-loss season was jarring for the Rockies and led to substantial change. Colorado hired Paul DePodesta as its president of baseball operations. One of MLB’s analytics pioneers, DePodesta has worked with the A’s, Dodgers, Padres, Mets and Cleveland Browns. More importantly, hiring DePodesta, one of the figures most associated with baseball’s sabermetrics movement, marked a major departure from how the franchise has operated in the past. We’ll see if it pays off.

Four seasons after the Mets finished their record-setting stretch of losing, they won their first World Series title. That franchise showed that historic incompetence doesn’t have to be permanent. DePodesta now has the chance to lead Colorado out of its own historically awful stretch.

Until then, Rockies fans can be forgiven for asking Stengel’s famous question: “Can’t anybody here play this game?”

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