We’re in the midst of the 2025 MLB Postseason, but on Monday, Baseball America released the 2025 offseason key dates calendar. And with the season the Rockies had, it’s shaping up to be a more interesting
one than those of the last few years given the ongoing search for a new GM/PBO and manager.
Here are the dates to keep an eye on:
Within a week after the World Series ends
Game 7 of the World Series is scheduled for November 1, if things get that far. But regardless of when the Series ends, the following week will be busy.
The day after the World Series ends: Free agency begins for eligible players.
For the Rockies, that includes:
- Orlando Arcia
- Thairo Estrada (mutual option)
- Kyle Farmer (mutual option)
- Germán Márquez
Five days after the World Series ends: This marks the deadline for MLB teams to tender Qualifying Offers, and it’s also when free agency officially begins across the league.
While we wait to hear the Rockies’ front office decisions, it’s hard to know which of these four players — if any — are retained. The QO is set for $22.025 million this year, up from $21.05 million in 2024.
The General Managers Meetings
November 10-13: That’s when the general managers meetings take place in Las Vegas.
This get-together is more lowkey than the Winter Meetings in December, but they’re where things can officially get rolling. GM’s often start talking with other clubs and players’ agents about potential deals, as well as generally discuss league-wide issues.
There likely won’t be any moves made during this time, but it will also be a chance for the Rockies new PBO/GM to get themself acquainted with the other GM’s across the league and acclimated to their new role.
At the very end of the GM Meetings, the MLB Awards will take place where the MVPs, Cy Young winners, Rookies of the Year, Managers of the Year, Comeback Players of the Year, Gold Gloves and Silver Sluggers will all be announced. The awards show will be broadcast on MLB Network.
(Could Hunter Goodman bring home some hardware this year?)
The Owners Meetings
November 18-20: That’s when the owners meetings take place in New York City, and it’s when some of the action will start rolling.
November 18th is also the deadline for players to accept their Qualifying Offers and for teams to set their reserve lists and rosters for the upcoming Rule 5 Draft.
The Winter Meetings
December 8-11: The Winter Meetings are the pinnacle of baseball’s offseason, and this year, all of MLB’s big wigs will descend on Orlando.
The MLB Draft Lottery will be held on December 9th at 4pm ET (announced on MLB Network at 5:30pm ET) and the Rule 5 Draft will be the following day from 2-4pm ET. As a reminder, the Rockies are ineligible for the Draft Lottery due to having lottery picks in 2023 and 2024. Teams cannot have lottery picks for more than two consecutive years, but you can find the odds for every other team here.
This will be another opportunity for the Rockies’ new GM to get acquainted with their new role, and perhaps get the ball rolling on some moves to rebuild the franchise.
Last year, the Rockies signed Thairo Estrada after non-tendering Brendan Rodgers earlier in the offseason. If they are indeed in full rebuild mode, they likely won’t sign anyone, but perhaps the new PBO/GM will be looking to make a splash and could make a few moves.
Arbitration
Skyler Timmins previewed arbitration for the Rockies last week. They have seven arbitration eligible players:
- Thairo Estrada
- Jimmy Herget
- Mickey Moniak
- Lucas Gilbreath
- Ryan Feltner
- Tyler Freeman
- Brenton Doyle
International Signing Period
January 15th: This officially marks the beginning of the International Signing Period, where clubs can begin negotiating with non-US players.
Last year, the Rockies signed players such as INF Larry Suero, OF Wandi Feliz, SS Rosniell De Paula, SS Kamuel Villar, INF Sebastian Blanco, and RHP’s Brian Tiburco, Pedro Núñez and Melky Ventura. All of them came from the Dominican Republic, except for Blanco, who is from Venezuela.
The Rockies have typically made splashes in the international market, especially in Latin America, so perhaps they can find their next group of guys that might include another Ezequiel Tovar or Ubaldo Jiménez or Germán Márquez.
Rockies Fest
Rockies Fest will officially be on January 24th. The day typically includes panels from Rockies players and personnel, as well as other fan events such as autograph sessions, a merchandise “garage sale” and selfies with Dinger. Here’s Renee Dechert’s summary of last year’s Rockies Fest, and we’ll have more details on the 2026 festivities soon.
Spring Training Begins
Spring training will officially begin in mid-February, and then we get to do this all over again!
So mark your calendars for what promises to be an intriguing offseason.
Arizona Fall League
Salt River Rafters 12, Scottsdale Scorpions 9
It was a wild one in Scottsdale, as Charlie Condon (No. 2 PuRP) and Jared Thomas (No. 8 PuRP) combined for nine of the Rafters’ 12 runs. Thomas went 2-for-4 with three runs scored, four RBI, one home run, one walk and one strikeout. Condon went 3-for-5 with two runs scored, one triple, one home run, five RBI and a strikeout. And both homers were not just homers — they were grand slams.
Scottsdale got to Rafters’ starter, Brandon Neely of the Boston Red Sox, early, chasing him after just 1 2/3 innings while putting up seven runs on four hits with three walks and a strikeout. Will Taylor from the Pittsburgh Pirates homered in the third to put the Rafters on the board, and then Condon hit his triple in the fourth to score Thomas and make the score 7-2. Pirates’ right fielder Esmerlyn Valdez homered to then double the score and make it 7-4.
The Scorpions tacked on a few more runs in the sixth, but then Thomas said “hold my beer” and hit a grand slam to make the score 9-8 in the seventh. Condon, not to be outdone, hit a slam of his own in the ninth to put the Rafters over the top for a final score of 12-9.
Young Rockies prospects to keep an eye on in 2026 | MLB.com
“Let the kids play!” has been the mantra for Rockies fans for the last few years, and that finally came to full fruition last year (mostly out of dire necessity). Looking ahead to 2026, especially with a new GM/PBO, it seems like that trend will continue into a full rebuild. Thomas Harding identifies three players who made their MLB debuts in 2025 who could have a big impact in their sophomore seasons.
Jerry Schemmel, longtime Rockies radio voice, laid off by iHeartRadio | Denver Post ($)
Jerry Schemmel has been with the Rockies for 14 years, and was laid off for a second time on Tuesday. It’s unclear at this time if he will be replaced for the 2026 season — as he was replaced with Mike Rice for the 2020 and 2021 seasons — but one thing is for sure: we at Purple Row will miss Jerry, and wish him the best on his next adventure!
How a Dodgers-Brewers NLCS defines MLB’s labor battle | ESPN
We’re in the midst of a heated battle between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Los Angeles Dodgers for the NL title. The Dodgers are up 2-0 after back-to-back stellar outings from Blake Snell and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and it looks like they might clinch the pennant again.
But Jeff Passan sheds light at what might be at stake heading into the CBA expiration at the end of the 2026 agreement (in case you needed another reason to root against the Dodgers).
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