Paul DePodesta Reveals Why He Chose Rockies Manager to Lead Team

Paul DePodesta and the Rockies personnel believes in the skipper to get the job done.

Colorado Rockies president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta laughing / Jeff Lange / USA TODAY NETWORK

Colorado Rockies president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta is making every effort to put together the best team possible for the new season. 

It's not easy to be sitting in the chair he's in, because it comes down to how the players perform on the field. Any general manager or front office personnel can pull many strings during the offseason, but talent, resilience, durability, and consistency are what drive a team to success.

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Will DePodesta's Strategic Thinking Work for Bringing Veterans?

Colorado Rockies President of Baseball operations Paul DePodesta / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The 53-year-old DePodesta returned to baseball after several years in the NFL with the Cleveland Browns. He got hired by the Rockies in November of 2025. Before the Rockies, before the Browns, he was the New York Mets' vice president of player development and scouting. Before that, he helped usher in the "Moneyball" era with the Athletics.

DePodesta and manager Warren Schaeffer are basically the new kids on the block. Both men will be entering their first full season together with the Rockies. DePodesta strongly believes that Schaeffer can turn this team around. One thing DePodesta values is everyone's input in the organization. It's because that leadership quality helped him to hire Schaeffer for the managerial job. 

"I dug around as much in the organization," DePodesta said. "People were still working in the organization, and also people who were there recently, and everyone raved about him. So I thought, 'Okay, this is a real candidate.'"

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

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The skipper checked off everything DePodesta was looking for in a manager. Schaeffer is a manager who will not stop until he sees each player on the roster be a better version of themselves. He gets along with his player and an emotional manager who wants to be here for the long run.

Given that this will be his first full season as the Rockies manager, the fans should be patient and give him a chance. Not everything will be solved in one season. 

DePodesta feels great to be back in baseball. He will feel much better if the Rockies can stay off another lousy season. DePodesta and the Rockies spent nearly $32 million after signing veterans such as former All-Star infielder Willi Castro and pitchers Michael Lorenzen, Tomoyuki Sugano, and Jose Quintana to one-year deals. 

The game of baseball is hard, and the Rockies will be challenging their young players by having veteran players around to see if they have what it takes to win the job. Every role in the big league must be earned. DePodesta has his own philosophy for shaping this team, and hopefully, the Rockies can turn a negative into a positive in a tough NL West division.