Rockies Manager Warren Schaeffer Hopes to Buck One Trend Across Baseball

Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer is hoping to end a trend of MLB managers after having the interim tag removed in November.

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When the Colorado Rockies fired long-time manager Bud Black back in May, they promoted Warren Schaeffer to interim manager. It was a situation where Schaeffer had nothing to lose, but he had the opportunity to try and prove to management that he deserved the job full-time.

Schaeffer led Colorado to a 36-86 record, and normally that wouldn't get a manager another opportunity the following year and beyond. The Rockies, however, are in a totally different situation than the rest of the teams. They are coming off a third straight 100-loss season after losing 119 games in 2025.

There was a change in the front office when Paul DePodesta was named the president of baseball operations in early November. It took three weeks after being hired, but DePodesta removed the interim tag from Schaeffer and named him his first manager in Denver.

He has a lot of work to do, but he is hoping to break a trend that has become all too common across baseball in recent years.

Rockies Manager Warren Schaeffer Hoping to Buck Recent Manager Trend Across Baseball

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Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe (subscription required) had an interesting note on managers for the 2026 season, and it included Schaeffer, who was the ninth manager named to the position for next season full-time. It is a concerning trend that seems to be happening too much.

"There will be nine new managers in 2026 if you count the Rockies naming Warren Schaeffer to the job after he managed the final 122 games of last season as an interim. It’s a trend. Nineteen teams have changed managers since 2024 and there have been 25 changes since 2021. The outliers are Kevin Cash (2015, Rays), Dave Roberts (2016, Dodgers), Torey Lovullo (2017, Diamondbacks), Aaron Boone (2018, Yankees), and Alex Cora (2018, Red Sox),'' wrote Abraham.

The five outliers mentioned by Abraham have all succeeded with their current teams in reaching the playoffs. Roberts and Cora have won World Series championships, but the others have had plenty of success.

They have all also been through some lean years, but not as lean as what the Rockies have been through recently. Schaeffer is looking to be part of Colorado's rebuild with DePodesta and avoid something that has been a common theme across the majors: managers getting fired quickly.

The Rockies have a long way to go in terms of their rebuild, but if there was one thing that came out of a lost 2025 season, it was that the younger players lobbied for Schaeffer to come back in 2026 and have the interim tag removed. It was, and now he can look to buck a trend across MLB for managers.

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