Rockies General Manager Lays Out Plan for Building Pitching at Coors Field

The Colorado Rockies were the worst pitching staff in baseball last season, but there are plans to fix that.

Sep 21, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; General wide angle view of Coors Field during the game between the Los Angeles Angels against the Colorado Rockies. / Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

The Colorado Rockies are coming off an objectively terrible pitching season. The Rockies lost 119 games in 2025, and the pitching staff did little to nothing to help out the offense. Looking ahead to 2026, Colorado has to do everything they can to fix their pitching if they want to successfully start their rebuild.

Earlier this offseason, Paul DePodesta, the Rockies' president of baseball operations, listed a few ways the team can rebuild their pitching staff. Part of that was finding the right pitchers who have the pitch mix and advanced analytics to work at the high altitude of Coors Field. The only problem is the Rockies have not signed anyone to the big league roster since mid-November. And he was not a pitcher.

With spring training right around the corner, Colorado is running out of time to sign free agent pitching that will help the team win this upcoming season. However, Josh Byrnes, the new general manager, has made it clear how the team plans to develop and improve the pitching staff.

“We’ve played out scenarios where we would attempt to bring in two guys who can stabilize that area -- who can not only pitch well but know how to give us some bulk innings, which any team needs," Byrnes said, per Thomas Harding of MLB.com.

Rockies Prioritizing Pitchers Already on the Roster

Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Byrnes mentioned the team is willing to sign a pitcher or two who can give the team plenty of innings next season. DePodesta and Byrnes are open to bringing in a few pitchers, but only on short-term deals. They do not want those pitchers to get in the way of the development of the young pitchers already on the team.

“It’s kind of interesting, without naming names. But with guys on shorter deals, I think there’s some intrigue," Byrnes told Harding.

But the majority of the focus will be on developing players already in the organization.

“There’s a reality -- this is not the winter of trying to solve where we are through free agency,” Byrnes said.

The Rockies understand improvements need to be made, but trying to solve it all at once is unrealistic. Trying to solve it all through free agency is unrealistic. The good news is Colorado has a few great pitching prospects.

Chase Dollander, Carson Palmquist, Bradley Blalock and Tanner Gordon all saw time in the MLB this past year. However, none of them were particularly successful. That does not mean they are not talented, but the young hurlers need to be developed a little bit more.

Bringing in a pitcher or two to help eat innings is not a bad idea. But the Rockies have to develop their young arms if they want to be successful in the long term.

Recommended Articles

feed