The World Series is fully underway. While the rest of the baseball world focuses on the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays trading blows, fans of the Colorado Rockies are waiting for something else.
The Rockies will hopefully hire their new head of baseball operations within the next two weeks. The two known finalists for the position are Arizona Diamondbacks senior vice president and assistant general manager Amiel Sawdaye, and Cleveland Guardians executive vice president and assistant general manager Matt Forman.
Both candidates are highly qualified outsiders who will bring a new voice to the Rockies organization, and it’s even possible that there are other finalists that aren’t publicly known. However, no matter who is chosen for the role, they will have their work cut out for them to counteract seven straight losing seasons, three straight 100 or more loss seasons, and 33 years of failing to find success at altitude.
The to-do list is a daunting one, but these first two tasks are crucial.
Build a Front Office
Although there have only been two resignations—Bill Schmidt and his assistant general manager Zach Rosenthal—there will likely be more departures once a new head of baseball operations is installed, especially if they are granted the title of president of baseball operations.
There are many members of the Rockies front office who have been with the team for a long time, and surely some of them are more than qualified to be a part of this rebuild. However, that decision should not fall to Dick or Walker Monfort. The new head of baseball operations should be given full autonomy to choose members of his front office to support him, ranging from scouting all the way up to his assistant general managers and player development personnel.
If the new hire is given the president of baseball operations title, the Rockies should also let him hire his own general manager if he so chooses.
The likes of vice president and assistant general manager of scouting Danny Montgomery, senior director of player development Chris Forbes, and vice president of international scouting and development Rolando Fernandez are all likely safe during the rebuild if only for their lengthy tenures with the organization. However, it might be in the best interest of the club to have them at least re-interview with the new head of baseball operations for their positions to make sure they are a fit with the vision for the rebuild. If not, then it might be time for some difficult partings of ways.
Evaluate the Coaching Staff
Once the front office is solidified, the new head of baseball operations needs to take a deep look at the Rockies’ coaching staff. This look isn’t just at the big league coaching staff—although that’s obviously critical—it’s at every staff all the way down to the Arizona Complex League and Dominican Summer League.
While there are plenty of obviously safe jobs throughout the minors—such as Bobby Meacham with the Double-A Hartford Yard Goats—the minor league coaching resources still need a critical deep dive. Most importantly, the new front office needs to determine that the coaching staffs throughout the minors are aligned with the new vision of player development as part of the rebuild.
It will also be important for the new front office to make sure each minor league coaching staff has enough resources dedicated to it. Rockies radio commentator Jack Corrigan pointed out earlier this season that the Rockies only have three coaches under the manager with the Low-A Fresno Grizzlies, comparing them to when he was with Cleveland in 1985.
This is true of each Rockies Rockies affiliate to an extent. From Low-A to Triple-A, there are three bespoke coaches—the hitting coach, pitching coach, and bench coach—underneath the manager. There are four if you count training and performance coaches like High-A Spokane’s Allison Krajewski.
The Rancho Cucamonga Quakes—the Low-A affiliate of the Dodgers—have multiple pitching coaches, as do the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Triple-A affiliate Reno Aces. The Rockies need to evaluate adding more coaches and player development resources to all of their affiliates.
When it comes to the Rockies’ big league coaching staff, the evaluation is a little stranger. The Rockies already have interim tags on their hitting coaches, bench coach, and manager, while pitching coach Darryl Scott parted ways with the team last week. Outside of bullpen coach Dustin Garneau and first base coach Ron Gideon, they essentially have the opportunity to start with a clean slate.
Where things get complicated is in the fate of interim skipper Warren Schaeffer. The organization is high on him and he was learning on the fly after being thrust into duty after Bud Black was fired. However, the new front office will need to decide if Schaeffer’s is the right voice to lead this young team through a rebuild or if they will want to bring in their own man for the job.
Either option will ultimately work with the new head of baseball operations to build their own coaching staff. This leaves the fate of interim hitting coaches Nic Wilson and Jordan Pacheco up in the air, as well as the remaining coaches from Bud Black’s crew.
The Rockies will hopefully have their new head of baseball operations named soon. The offseason is shorter than it seems, and the new man in charge will need to hit the ground running to accomplish these two vital tasks. Even then, there will be much more on his plate to follow.
Arizona Fall League
Glendale Desert Dogs 10, Salt River Rafters 4
Braylen Wimmer had another tough fall night in a Rafters loss. The utility man went 0-for-5 at the plate with four strikeouts. Jared Thomas (no. 8 PuRP) had just one hit—a double—and struck out three times. It was Charlie Condon (no. 2 PuRP) who stood out in the Rafters’ lineup. The top prospect went 3-for-4 with a walk and an RBI without striking out. No Rockies prospects pitched in the game.
Injury woes behind him, Feltner sets sights on 2026 | MLB.com
Ryan Feltner finished the season in the Rockies top 12 for wins above replacement despite not throwing a big league pitch after May. The 2025 season was supposed to be his breakout campaign, but it was cut short due to a back injury. Now Feltner is gearing up for next season where the goal is once again to establish himself as a big league starter.
“He’s a really good pitcher,” interim manager Warren Schaeffer said in September. “He’s got some of the best stuff that we’ve got. It was just a tough year physically.”
Colorado Rockies Offseason Preview | Spotrac
The folks over at top baseball financial tool Spotrac have put together a preview of the Colorado Rockies’ offseason and a quick look at how the money breaks down as the team heads into their long-awaited rebuild.
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