Don't Count Colorado Rockies Out from Trading for Starting Pitching

The Colorado Rockies are being realistic about their chances in 2026. They hope to avoid losing 100 or more games for the third straight year.

They’ve done that by bringing in veterans to take on key roles on the team. That includes the starting rotation, where the Rockies signed Michael Lorenzen, Jose Quintana and Tomoyuki Sugano to fill in the rotation behind Kyle Freeland. Ryan Feltner won the fifth starter job, but former first-round pick Chase Dollander is waiting in the wings.

President of baseball operations Paul DePodesta knows the team is rebuilding. But he didn’t want to hand young players jobs and see them fail. He wanted them to compete against veterans and try to win jobs. He called it “raising the floor” during spring training.

But, at some point this season, Colorado will have to think ahead to 2027 for a key reason — this rotation may not be together long.

Why Colorado Could Trade for Starting Pitching

Colorado Rockies pitcher Jose Quintana throws a baseball. — Colorado Rockies pitcher Jose Quintana. | Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images

As helpful as Lorenzen, Quintana and Sugano can be to increasing competition, the trio is only tied to the franchise for one season. That’s for one reason DePodesta has articulated and one he hasn’t. The Rockies are hoping to continue to develop pitching in the minor leagues that can take those places in 2027. He believes the Rockies have untapped potential in the system.

The unspoken reason is the potential for a work stoppage after the season as the owners and the MLB Players Association try to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement. The widespread sentiment is that there will be some sort of offseason work stoppage.

This is why the Rockies may seek out starting pitching at the trade deadline to line its system with more options for the rotation for 2027 and beyond. Freeland is only under contract for one more season, as his deal ends after 2027. Slugger Kris Bryant, who is back on the injured list, comes off the books in 2028. The Rockies will have money to spend down the line.

Colorado won’t be looking for veteran retreads, either. The Rockies will be looking for young, controllable talent that fits its philosophy on pitching as DePodesta and his staff try and to solve the riddle that is pitching at Coors Field. Colorado is looking for certain types of pitchers, ones who have stuff that can excel in the thinner air of Denver.

It would not be surprising to see the Rockies move Lorenzen, Quintana and Sugano — or some combination of the three — to contenders looking for veteran arms at the deadline. That’s when the costs of trades tend to go up. Those three would likely be seen as secondary options. But Lorenzen has been moved at the trade deadline twice in the last three seasons. His ability to start and work in relief makes him attractive to contenders.

The Rockies want to be a contender one day. It won’t be with these three pitchers. But they could prove to be the path toward getting closer to it.