The Colorado Rockies are a franchise at a crossroads, facing a pivotal offseason after a historically disastrous 2025 campaign. With 119 losses etched into the record books and a roster riddled with question marks, the organization has doubled down on internal development, continuity, and, perhaps most importantly, patience. At the center of this evolving narrative stand three figures: emerging pitcher Tanner Gordon, embattled manager Warren Schaeffer, and the ever-controversial Kris Bryant contract.
Let’s start with the bright spot in a season otherwise defined by turbulence. Tanner Gordon, a right-hander who struggled mightily in his 2024 rookie campaign with an 8.65 ERA over 34 1/3 innings, seized his opportunity in 2025 amid injuries to rotation mainstays Austin Gomber and Chase Dollander. When Gordon took the mound against the New York Yankees on May 23 at Coors Field, he delivered a performance that turned heads: two earned runs over six innings, with five strikeouts and just two walks. For a team desperate for stability, it was a glimmer of hope.
But the baseball gods weren’t done testing Gordon. After his next start against the Cubs, he suffered a left oblique strain, sidelining him until late July. Upon his July 23 return, he shut out the St. Louis Cardinals over six innings, allowing just four hits in another impressive home start. Yet, the rollercoaster resumed: three rough outings against the Guardians, Diamondbacks, and Blue Jays saw him surrender 10 earned runs on 31 hits across just 10 1/3 innings. The nadir was an August 4 disaster against Toronto, where he gave up seven earned runs in less than three innings as the Rockies were thumped 15-1.
“No matter how good a pitcher you are, you’re going to have stretches where you give up runs when pitching for the Rockies,” longtime starter Kyle Freeland has said—words that proved prophetic for Gordon. But resilience is the name of the game at Coors Field, and Gordon answered the bell. He bounced back in August, winning his final four starts and collecting victories against the Diamondbacks, Dodgers, Astros, and Cubs. Over those 23 innings, he limited opponents to just seven earned runs, striking out 19 while issuing only six walks. Three of those wins came at the notoriously hitter-friendly Coors Field, underscoring his growing comfort pitching at altitude.
September brought mixed results, but Gordon still finished the season leading the Rockies with six wins—a remarkable feat for a 28-year-old in just his second professional season. His 5.29 home ERA, while not eye-popping, actually led the Rockies’ rotation, and the club won five of his nine home starts, with four of those qualifying as quality outings. Despite starting just 15 games, he notched seven quality starts, good for second on the staff. That’s no small achievement on a team whose rotation ranked dead last in most statistical categories.
As the Rockies look ahead, President of Baseball Operations Paul DePodesta has made it clear the club will explore various avenues to improve the rotation, but Gordon’s late-season surge has put him firmly in the mix for a spot in 2026. According to DePodesta, “We’ll look at all options to improve the club’s porous starting rotation, and that includes players currently on the 40-man roster.” Gordon’s resilience and ability to keep his team in games at home could make him a key piece as the Rockies try to claw their way back to respectability.
But if Gordon represents hope, the managerial situation embodies the Rockies’ complicated relationship with change. On November 29, 2025, DePodesta officially removed the interim tag from Warren Schaeffer, naming him the full-time manager for the 2026 season. Schaeffer, who finished 2025 with a 36-86 mark as interim skipper, now holds a multi-year contract. His promotion marks the third time in franchise history that an interim manager has ascended to the full-time role, following in the footsteps of Clint Hurdle and Jim Tracy.
Both Hurdle and Tracy experienced initial success—Hurdle famously led the Rockies to their first World Series appearance in 2007, while Tracy guided the club to a playoff berth in 2009. Yet, their tenures ultimately ended in disappointment and decline. The question now: which path will Schaeffer follow? While some fans and pundits have criticized DePodesta’s decision to retain Schaeffer after a 119-loss debacle, the move signals a commitment to continuity during what DePodesta has called an “audit-take-inventory-fix-the-foundation” season. With Major League Baseball inching toward a potential labor stoppage in December 2026, the Rockies are clearly in rebuild mode, not quick-fix territory.
The 2026 roster is expected to closely resemble last year’s, with perhaps a few new arms in the rotation or bullpen. Schaeffer’s role is less about chasing wins and more about instilling discipline, structure, and an analytics-driven approach for a young, developing core. As one local columnist put it, Schaeffer is “not so much a manager as an instructional league coach.” DePodesta’s biggest tasks remain ahead: hiring a general manager and overhauling the minor league coaching and scouting infrastructure to finally build a sustainable pipeline of talent. Until those changes take root, the Rockies’ fortunes may not shift dramatically, regardless of who fills out the lineup card.
Amid these organizational shakeups, another storyline continues to haunt the Rockies: the legacy of Kris Bryant’s contract. In March 2022, the club signed the former MVP to a massive seven-year, $182 million deal after his long stint with the Chicago Cubs. At the time, it was a statement of intent—a marquee signing meant to signal ambition. Fast forward to 2025, and Bryant’s performance has cratered. He slashed a dismal .154/.195/.205 across just 11 games, with zero home runs and a single RBI. Injuries plagued his season, and his bat speed has reportedly declined “exponentially.”
This precipitous drop-off has not gone unnoticed. Bleacher Report recently ranked Bryant’s contract as the worst in baseball heading into 2026, with teammate Antonio Senzatela’s deal also making the top ten. Bryant, now 33, seems unlikely to regain his former All-Star form, and his contract is widely viewed as a dead end. Trading him is all but impossible given the combination of his salary and injury history, leaving the Rockies in a financial bind that could hamper future flexibility.
As the franchise embarks on a full-scale rebuild, the Bryant contract serves as a cautionary tale—a reminder of the risks inherent in big-ticket free agency, especially for a club facing so many other structural challenges. The Rockies’ focus now must be on player development, smart drafting, and incremental improvement, rather than splashy signings.
There are no easy fixes on the horizon for the Rockies. But with Tanner Gordon’s emergence, a renewed commitment to internal growth under Warren Schaeffer, and a front office led by Paul DePodesta determined to overhaul the club’s developmental apparatus, there is at least a sense of direction. The road back to competitiveness will be long and winding, but for a franchise accustomed to adversity, there’s always the hope that the next turnaround is just one breakout season—or one smart decision—away.
