During a time when the Denver Broncos, Colorado Avalanche, and Denver Nuggets are all soaring in their respective leagues, there’s not a lot of space in the Colorado sports media market for the worst team
in Major League Baseball.
The Rockies are trying to build a new foundation to change that reputation, led by president of baseball operations, Paul DePodesta. While the front office changes have overshadowed the lack of roster moves, those changes, and the new coaching staff, are building a foundation to try to actually become a draft and develop team.
If DePodesta — who is coming from being a chief strategy officer for the Cleveland Browns in the NFL — wants to keep moving in the right direction, and help the Rockies rejoin the conversation as a competent organization in the Mile High City, he needs to follow the example set by the Broncos.
In the last three and a half years, the Broncos have embraced change with new owners, a new head coach and a new team culture. The Rockies already have a new front office and a new manager, so now it’s about developing a good roster and creating a winning culture.
Making the Cut
Former general manager Bill Schmidt’s infamous, albatross $182 million, seven-year contract to Kris Bryant has been the anchor dragging down Colorado’s sinking ship since 2022, which resulted in the franchise-worst 119-loss season in 2025.
Many in the Rockies fan community and sports media community have argued for the Rockies to part ways with the injured Bryant, who has only played in 170 games with a -1.6 rWAR in four seasons in Colorado, including Purple Row’s own Evan Lang in November. While Bryant’s injuries are tragic, and I truly feel bad for him, it just doesn’t seem like Bryant will ever be back on the field in any serious way.
In March of 2024, when it was clear that Russell Wilson was past his prime and wasn’t the franchise quarterback the team needed, the Broncos released him. In doing so, the organization decided to eat $85 million to not have Wilson on the roster. It may have been an unconventional move, but it didn’t take long to pay off.
After the cut, Denver shifted its focus to the draft and acquiring key players through free agency. Through the draft, they got QB Bo Nix, running back R.J. Harvey, wide receivers Troy Franklin and Pat Bryant, and more. Through signings, they improved their offensive line and shored up their defense.
Two years later, the Broncos have a promising QB, won the AFC West for the first time in 10 years, earned the No. 1 seed in the AFC and had six players selected for the NFL Pro Bowl, which is tied for the most of any team in the league. Even with all those accolades, guess who the top earner on that playoff-bound, first-round bye team’s roster?
Russell Wilson.
Wilson made $32 million this season, not including the $10.5 million the New York Giants paid him for actually being on their team. The next highest salary, coming in at nearly $9 million less, is right tackle Mike McGlinchey at $23.8 million.
Bryant’s $26 million annual salary has topped the Rockies payroll the last four seasons. Coming in second in 2022 and 2023 was Charlie Blackmon’s $18 million. In 2024, it was Blackmon’s $13 million. Last season, it was Germán Márquez’s $14 million. Blackmon has retired and Márquez is a free agent. No one even comes close to Bryant’s paycheck.
The Rockies owe Bryant $26 million per season for the next three years. That’s a total of $81 million. It’s eerily similar to the $85 million the Broncos paid Wilson to leave. No one expects the Rockies fortunes to turn so drastically to even be in the playoffs in two seasons, let alone win their first-ever National League West title.
But the Broncos bold move proved that similar ones can be beneficial.
The Rockies need to follow their lead.
The action would speak louder than any words could that the Rockies are taking ownership of past mistakes and turning the page on the past for the promise of a brighter future.
On Wednesday, DePodesta made a promising first Major League roster addition in signing RHP starter Michael Lorenzen. The move not only instantly made the starting rotation better, but it was also done at the low price of $8 million on a one-year deal. This is a good step in the right direction.
Releasing Bryant would also get the Rockies back in the sports media conversation, even if just for a day, and increase excitement for Opening Day.
Come on, Rockies. Let’s ride and release Bryant!
Changing the Culture
While the Rockies new brass needs time to establish their philosophies when it comes to drafting and developing more successfully to win at altitude and at sea level — which will also dictate what kinds of players they want to target in trades or sign in free agency — they also need leaders who can help manager Warren Schaeffer create a winning culture.
Long-time Broncos KOA Radio announcer Dave Logan described Broncos head coach Sean Payton’s approach to this process perfectly in his weekly Broncos X’s and O’s podcast on DNVR Sports this week. After interviewing numerous players and people in the game, he said he believed Payton’s approach to roster building came down to finding players who love football and then making sure they were “smart” additions to the team.
“You can look at how this roster has been shaped over these three years, especially with the free agents [the Broncos] have brought in, and they have identified guys that a) love football; that b) are good character guys — you aren’t going to read about them or hear about them on social media out doing stuff they shouldn’t do. They are good locker room guys — good leaders. And so you get a handful-plus of those guys, and then the rest of the team identifies those guys as leaders and [they say] ‘this is the way we do things.’ So it doesn’t necessarily come from the coaches; the leadership is coming from the guys in the locker room.”
This is exactly the type of long-term, thoughtful planning the Rockies need to do. Kyle Freeland is one of those leadership guys, but the Rockies need more. With a young team and the stink of six straight seasons of losing festering in the clubhouse, the Rockies need to bring in a veteran or two known for their outspoken leadership. They also need to target leaders in the draft.
The Broncos have developed a beautiful blueprint on how to turn a struggling franchise into a winning one in a relatively short amount of time.
Who better to help the Rockies do the same than a football/baseball executive like DePodesta?
Colorado Rockies 2026 arbitration tracker | Purple Row
The Rockies avoided any drama by coming to contract agreements with all six of their arbitration-eligible players on Thursday. Mickey Moniak, Brenton Doyle, Ryan Feltner, Jimmy Herget, Tyler Freeman and Brennan Bernadino all settled.
Tanner Gordon on Warren Schaeffer’s leadership, more | MLB.com
In an interview with MLB Network Radio, Rockies starting pitcher Tanner Gordon talks about training with Kyle Freeland in Arizona this offseason, loving watching his Indiana Hoosiers in the College Football Playoff and how he loves the leadership of manager Warren Schaeffer.
MLB midwinter Power Rankings: Where every team stands in 2026 | ESPN.com
The Rockies finished dead last in 2025 and remain there as we begin 2026. Considering most of the changes have been behind the scenes and the roster doesn’t seem very different yet, this is understandable. Even a successful turnaround will take time.
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