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Rockies See One of Their Outfielders Elect Free Agency Ahead of Offseason

The Colorado Rockies will have another player elect for free agency, as one of their former draft selections is set to head to the market this offseason.

Jeremy Trottier

Jun 18, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Colorado Rockies right fielder Sam Hilliard (16) reacts after striking out against the Washington Nationals during the fourth inning at Nationals Park.
Jun 18, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Colorado Rockies right fielder Sam Hilliard (16) reacts after striking out against the Washington Nationals during the fourth inning at Nationals Park. / Brad Mills-Imagn Images
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The Colorado Rockies have been looking ahead to the offseason for quite some time now, given they were mathematically eliminated from the playoffs for a few weeks at the end of the season.

Now, with October rolling around, they have a chance to get some of their smaller-scale transactions out of the way as players have started to elect for free agency, which has happened twice in the past few days.

Infielder Keston Hiura elected to become a free agent following a season where he was only marginally utilized, playing in a total of eight Major League games in 2025. Hiura had produced at a high level down in Triple-A for much of the year, but unfortunately, he was never able to get things to turn around in the MLB. Now, he will try to find a new opportunity elsewhere for 2026.

Minor league players have their chance to elect free agency if they so wish, and 14 players across the league took the chance to do so. One of the players on the official list is from a Rockies affiliate team, a former draft selection of theirs who will now head to the open market.

Which Rockies Outfielder Will Head to Minor League Free Agency?

Colorado Rockies outfielder Sam Hilliard hits a triple, wearing a light blue and purple jersey with a light blue helmet.
Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

The player who will now be a free agent is outfielder Sam Hilliard, as was reported by Darragh McDonald of MLB Trade Rumors.

Hilliard has been a part of Colorado's organization for 11 seasons now after being drafted back in the 2015 MLB Draft in the 15th round by the team. He has managed to climb all the way up from the Pioneer League to the MLB, with most of his time being spent in Triple-A, with 376 total games.

He had a couple of great moments with the Major League squad over the years, including a 476-foot home run last season against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the latter portion of the campaign.

Across all his seasons, he played 332 games at the MLB level, slashing .218/.298/.437 with 107 RBI, 133 runs, 44 home runs, 321 strikeouts and 94 walks. He has shown some impressive flashes during his career, and has a decent amount of power in his bat for a player who bounced back and forth between the farm system and the Major Leagues.

After all that time, he will now be looking for a new opportunity heading into 2026, as he tries to find playing time at the MLB level for a different squad.

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Jeremy Trottier
JEREMY TROTTIER

Jeremy Trottier started his writing journey with WBLZ Media, and has worked through multiple publications with 247Sports, USA Today, Fansided, SBNation and others. He is an avid fan of motorsports and most sports in general, and has completed a degree in sports management to further understand the sports industry. During his time with sports media, he has been credentialed for coverage of Boston College sports, and can often be found attending their football and basketball games as well as expected coverage of their men’s soccer team in the near future. Sports are a large part of his life and career, as he looks to pursue a full time role within the industry someday.

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