What Gabe Ribas Means for Rockies’ 2026 Rebuild

The Rockies hires pitching coach with impeccable baseball experience

Detroit Tigers director of pitching Gabe Ribas watches warm up during spring training at Tigertown in Lakeland, Fla. on Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2024. / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Colorado Rockies have made the announcement of hiring Gabe Ribas as an assistant pitching coach. He will be working under Alon Leichman. 

The Rockies have announced the following updates to the 2026 coaching staff: pic.twitter.com/Dp5XeHyY5G

— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) December 9, 2025

What To Know About Rivas’ Baseball Life?

Detroit Tigers director of pitching Gabe Ribas talks to pitcher Sean Guenther during spring training at TigerTown in Lakeland, Fla. on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024. / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

Ribas will be getting an opportunity of a lifetime because this is his first job with an MLB team. There is some excitement, and I wouldn’t be surprised if there are some nerves as well. It’s the big leagues. 

Before the 45-year-old got hired for this new position, we had to go all the way back to what led him to this moment. During his high school days, he was a good player. He received honors from USA Today when he was named the 1998 Maine State Player of the Year. 

Ribas played for four years at Northwestern University before being drafted in the 14th round of the 2002 MLB Draft by San Diego. 

He had some success pitching in the minors. When he played as a member of the Class A Eugene Emeralds, he thrived as a relief pitcher. His effort and contributions in his first season didn’t go unnoticed. He finished the season by going 8-1 with 16 saves.

Ribas’ consistency earned him the Rolaids Relief Man of the Year award. 2003 was an excellent year for him because he was also named the Padres' Minor League Pitcher of the Year. He was a tremendous strikeout-caliber pitcher for the Padres' minor league system.

Ribas didn’t get to play in the majors, which has happened to many players who reach the minors but never make it to the show. He decided to apply his wisdom, knowledge, and experience to coaching pitchers. It turned out to be an excellent decision for him. 

His coaching career began at his Alma mater, Northwestern, and from there he made short stops at College of the Holy Cross and Northern Colorado as an assistant coach. 

The moment came for him to do a little more as a coach and as a recruitment coordinator when he landed at Santa Clara University. He spent six seasons there. Under his leadership, pitchers Mitchell White and Max Kuhns earned All-West Coast Conference Honorable Mention pitchers in Mitchell White and Max Kuhns. White made it to the MLB Draft in 2016 when he was selected in the second round (65th overall) by the Los Angeles Dodgers. 

Little did Ribas know that he would go on to work for the Dodgers' system as a Pitching Coordinator for four seasons. Ribas also served as a Director of Pitching for five seasons when he joined the Detroit Tigers. 

Baseball has been part of Ribas' life for over 20 years, as both a player and a coach. The new position adds more accomplishment to his baseball resume. Ribas will be fueled to help the Rockies move in the right direction. 

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