This afternoon at 4:00 was the deadline for teams to protect players from the Rule 5 Draft by placing them on the 40-man roster. As he truly embarked on rebuilding the Colorado Rockies, president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta made a series of moves.
- Acquired left-handed pitcher Brennan Bernardino from the Boston Red Sox in exchange for outfielder Braiden Ward.
- Selected the contract of left-handed pitcher Welinton Herrera (No. 21 PuRP).
- Selected the contract of right-handed pitcher Gabriel Hughes (No. 11 PuRP).
- Selected the contract of outfielder Sterlin Thompson (No. 18 PuRP).
- Designated left-handed pitcher Ryan Rolison for assignment.
- Designated infielder Michael Toglia for assignment.
Brenan Bernadino
The trade with the Red Sox was unexpected and marked DePodesta’s first baseball trade in 20 years.
LHP Bernardino has worked mostly as a middle reliever. The 33 year old has a 3.47 ERA (155.2 IP, 60 ER), one save, 68 walks and 157 strikeouts in 169
career Major League games (12 starts) over parts of four seasons with Seattle (2022) and Boston (2023-25).
In 2025, he earned a 3.14 ERA (51.2 IP, 18 ER), one save, 26 walks and 43 strikeouts in 55 games (three starts) with the Red Sox. Bernardino was been especially effective against lefties, holding them .211/.276/.336. Statcast shows he has a four-pitch mix, including a sinker, curveball, cutter, and slider.
The native of Valencia, California, was originally drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the 26th round of the 2014 First-Year Player Draft out of California State University Dominguez Hills.
The Rockies have struggled to find consistent lefty relievers and hope that Bernardino may address that bullpen deficit.
Braiden Ward
Evan Lang wrote about Ward in August. He was the Colorado Rockies 2021 MLB Draft 16th round pick and an alumnus of the University of Washington.
Ward was caught up in a farm system with outfield options drafted before him. He spent 2025 with the Double-A Hartford Yard Goats and the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes.
Welinton Herrera
The 21-year-old lefty pitcher has made 157 appearances (including one start) over his Minor League career. From 2021-2025, he has earned a 3.27 ERA (214.2 IP, 78 ER), racking up 88 walks and 309 strikeouts.
Herrera spent the 2025 season with High-A Spokane and Double-A Hartford, posting a 2.64 ERA (64.2 IP, 19 ER), 17 saves, and 99 strikeouts in 52 relief appearances. He finished the season with the fourth-most saves among all Minor League pitchers
He also began collecting accolades. He was named to the 2025 MLB Futures Game and pitched for Salt River in the Arizona Fall League where he went 0-1 with one save and a 2.00 ERA (9.0 IP, 2 ER) and 14 strikeouts in nine outings.
The Rockies signed Herrera as a non-drafted international free agent on January 20, 2021.
Gabriel Hughes
The Rockies first-round draft pick in 2022 has struggled with injuries but began to find his footing in 2025.
The 24 year-old RHP has a 4.89 ERA (175.0 IP, 95 ER), 65 walks and 172 strikeouts in 39 starts in the Minor Leagues from 2022-25.
In 2025, he made 24 starts between Triple-A Albuquerque (14 GS), Double-A Hartford (9 GS) and the ACL Rockies (1 GS). In those games, he earned a 4.19 ERA (105.1 IP, 49 ER).
Sterlin Thompson
There were questions as to whether the Rockies would protect Thompson, but DePodesta answered them today.
Thompson, 24, has played in 359 games in the Minor Leagues from 2022-25, slashing .279/.360/.459 with 218 runs, 138 extra-base hits and 44 stolen bases. He spent 2025 with the Isotopes and hit .296 (130-for-439) with 28 doubles, eight triples, 18 home runs and a .911 OPS in 120 games. In fact, he finished the season tied for the second-most triples among all Triple-A players.
The University of Florida Gator was selected by Colorado in the C1 round (31st overall) of the 2022 MLB Draft.
Ryan Rolison and Michael Toglia
The decision to DFA former first-round draft picks LHP Rolison and 1B Toglia was unsurprising, given their struggles. (Read Rolison’s 2025 analysis here and Toglia’s here.)
With these moves, the Rockies have a full 40-man roster, and the Paul DePodesta Era has begun.
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