Paul DePodesta Spent Offseason Raising Rockies Floor with Veteran Talent

The Colorado Rockies were the worst team in baseball last season. That's why new president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta is in Denver.

It's his job, along with new general manager Josh Byrnes, to turn things around. This won't be a one-year flip. The Rockies have lost 100 or more games each of the last three seasons, including last year's 119-loss debacle. This will take time. The new leadership knows this young team has talent, which can help it down the line. It’s their job to nurture it.

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But you don't nurture young talent by doing it in the fire and hoping it performs immediately. That is not how DePodesta wanted to move forward in his first year. During an interview with MLB Network, he said every move he made was intentional to do one thing that would help his younger players grow.

“We felt like we needed to raise the floor and bring in some more veteran players that could help establish that foundation to give our young players a better chance to succeed,” he said.

How Rockies Raised the Floor

Paul DePodesta chatted with @SieraSantos & @JakePeavy_22 about his return to baseball, hiring new @Rockies skipper Warren Schaeffer and more!

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— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) March 1, 2026

Colorado added three veteran starting pitchers via free agency — Michael Lorenzen, Jose Quintana and Tomoyuki Sugano. The trio has plenty of Major League experience and should provide ballast to a rotation that looked exceptionally young, aside from long-time left-hander Kyle Freeland.

In the field, the Rockies traded for outfielder Jake McCarthy and infielder Eduoard Julien and signed free agent Willi Castro. All three are expected to play key roles this season.

All six of these players should make an impact on making Colorado better this season. None were signed to long-term deals, which means they won’t cut off the progress of top prospects. It also has the benefit of giving the Rockies’ young players something to strive for, DePodesta said.

“We wanted to create a situation where our young players had to earn their spot on the team,” he said. “We didn’t want them to get their at-bats or their innings because we didn’t have anyone else. They actually have to earn it. They have to show they are ready. They now have a foundation to succeed at this level by bringing in some of these veteran players.”

It means the Rockies don’t have to push Charlie Condon or T.J. Rumfield into a spot at first base if they haven’t earned it. The job could go to Julien. It means that Colorado’s next starting pitching prospects doesn’t have to be called up by default, as it felt like Chase Dollander was last year.

Raising the floor means the Rockies get better this year and get their prospects ready for the future. It’s the best of both worlds and creates the competitive situations DePodesta wanted in 2026.