Surprising Rockies X-Factors Could Spark Turnaround in 2026

Three free agent signings this winter were tabbed as X-Factors for Colorado in 2026.

Colorado Rockies hat | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

In his first offseason in charge of the Colorado Rockies as president of baseball operations, Paul DePodesta hit the ground running with some low-risk, high-reward moves. Given that he was hired after the World Series, he was behind the rest of the teams in the majors in evaluating his new team and making decisions.

Despite coming from the Cleveland Browns in the NFL, this isn't DePodesta's first rodeo in MLB. He has previous experience with the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres and New York Mets. He mostly brought in veterans through free agent signings and trades, with a focus on pitching.

He signed Michael Lorenzen, Tomoyuki Sugano and Jose Quintana to deals.

Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report listed the X-Factor on each in 2026 and his for the Rockies was an interesting one.

Rockies X-Factors in 2026 Are Newly-Signed Starting Pitchers

Michael Lorenzen | William Liang-Imagn Images

Miller listed one player for each club, for the most part, but you can understand why he listed the three free agent signings from over the winter that were added to the starting rotation.

Those were necessary signings for a club that is in for a long rebuild, but needs veterans to mix in with their younger players.

"Listen, no one expects the collection of Michael Lorenzen, Jose Quintana, and Tomoyuki Sugano to suddenly pull the Rockies out of the bottomless pit into which they've buried themselves. For the first time in a long time, though, they managed to sign a free agent pitcher (three of them) with a tangible pulse. And if any of those veterans can somewhat revive their career while making home starts at Coors Field, maybe others will begin to consider it, too,'' wrote Miller.

There are several reasons why these signings are considered good ones. It gives manager Warren Schaeffer depth behind Kyle Freeland at the top of the rotation, while it also doesn't rush any prospects along that require more development.

Lorenzen and Quintana are veterans who, if they pitch well enough, could be dangled as trade chips at some point by DePodesta in terms of collecting prospects.

Getting free agent pitchers to sign to pitch half of their games at Coors Field is something that Colorado can't generally pull off. However, DePodesta was able to do it and he must have made quite the selling pitch to each player.

Nobody is expecting the Rockies to turn things around this season, but if their trio of new starters can help turn things in the right direction, then it will be the first step for an organization that is looking to turn the page to a new chapter this summer.