Rockies Leadership Still Has One Major Need to Address This Offseason

Colorado Rockies president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta still as a lot of work to do this offseason.

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It has been a quiet offseason for the Colorado Rockies so far, but it should not come as a surprise. President of baseball operations Paul DePodesta was hired in November after the World Series, and there is a lot of work that needs to be done behind the scenes.

Roster evaluation is one of the things that needs to be done, and which players, if any, are going to be moved before spring training begins. In terms of roster building, it is likely going to be a lot of low-cost players with a lot of low-risk, high-reward opportunities.

One area that needs to be addressed is the starting pitching. The staff in 2025 finished with a MLB-worst 6.65 ERA, which wasn't anywhere near the next closest team, the Washington Nationals. It's no secret that it's an area that DePodesta needs to address for manager Warren Schaeffer. It is also the one position that, to one's surprise, was the weakest position for Colorado.

Rockies Need to Address Starting Pitching for 2026

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Mark Polishuk of MLB Trade Rumors listed each National League team's weakest position based on bWAR, and the Rockies' starting pitching was their worst at -3.2, which is incredible. Addressing the need overnight is not going to be easy for DePodesta and his staff.

"The Nationals had a collective 11.9 bWAR in 2025, ranking 29th of the 30 teams.  Coming up 30th with an unspeakable -3.8 bWAR were the Rockies, as Colorado suffered through a nightmare of a 119-loss season. The grim set of numbers include negative bWAR totals at first base, second base, DH, right field, and the outfield as a whole.  At the bottom of the barrel, however, was the rotation,'' Polishuk wrote.

Again, it's no secret that the starting rotation was as bad as it was. To have a team ERA of 6.65 and a -3.2 bWAR, the numbers have to be rightening. However, Colorado does have a good starting point at the top of the rotation with veteran Kyle Freeland. He is the perfect type of player to mentor young pitchers and anyone who is brought in either through a trade or free agency.

DePodesta has already made one deal, adding left-hander Brennan Bernardino from the Boston Red Sox, who could be an emergency starter if needed. There are some free agent options still available that would be good fits, but there is no doubt that there is a lot of work to do with the rotation before the middle of February.

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