The Colorado Rockies have never seemed to be particularly enthusiastic about free agency. The organization has a reputation for being insular, holding on to familiar players, and generally preferring to do things its own way.
But just how different is Colorado’s approach from the rest of the NL West?
It’s one thing to avoid spending like the Los Angeles Dodgers, but what about the San Francisco Giants, San Diego Padres, and Arizona Diamondbacks? Are the Rockies really that far behind their division
rivals when it comes to bringing in outside talent?
I wanted to find out, so I went through seven years of FanGraphs’ RosterResource transaction records to compare major- and minor-league free-agent activity across all five teams.
The results weren’t particularly flattering.
Seven years of free agency
From 2020 through 2026, the Rockies recorded just 90 major- and minor-league free-agent agreements. Every other NL West team recorded at least 137.
NL West free-agent agreements, 2020–2026
Source: FanGraphs RosterResource transaction charts.
Colorado recorded approximately 44% fewer agreements than the average of its four division rivals. While I expected the Rockies to trail the Dodgers, I wasn’t expecting them to finish this far behind everybody else.
At the major-league level, Colorado recorded just 23 agreements, compared with 40 for San Diego, the next-lowest team.
Three of Colorado’s agreements brought back Jhoulys Chacín, José Ureña and Jacob Stallings.
Not exactly a reunion tour anyone was demanding.
Of course, players have to agree to sign, and Colorado isn’t always an attractive destination, especially for pitchers considering Coors Field. Franchise reputation and a team’s competitive outlook can influence those decisions.
But money matters, too. If another organization offers a pitcher $10 million a year, the Rockies could offer $13 million. That doesn’t guarantee he’ll sign, but it’s a pretty good reason to answer the phone.
When the Rockies spend
I also wanted to see what each NL West team received from its biggest free agent contracts.
Using Spotrac, I identified each team’s ten highest-average-annual-value (AAV) outside free agent agreements whose playing periods began between 2020 and 2026, including contracts tied at the tenth-highest AAV. I then used Baseball Reference to calculate the rWAR accumulated under those agreements through the 2026 season.
Some agreements remain active, so the totals will change as those contracts continue. For the financial comparison, I counted only the contract value attributable to seasons through 2026 rather than including future seasons that haven’t been played.
Combined guarantees and rWAR from each team’s highest-AAV free-agent contracts
Sources: Spotrac contract terms and Baseball-Reference rWAR. Production is limited to the specific qualifying contracts through 2026, excluding subsequent extensions or new agreements.
The Rockies are the only team in this comparison with a negative combined return from their largest free-agent agreements.
Kris Bryant has contributed -1.6 rWAR since signing his seven-year, $182 million contract before the 2022 season. Michael Lorenzen produced -1.7 rWAR on his $8 million agreement in 2026, while Jurickson Profar finished at -1.6 rWAR after signing for $7.75 million in 2023.
There have been some positive returns. Tomoyuki Sugano contributed 1.8 rWAR in 2026, Willi Castro added 1.1 and José Quintana produced 0.4.
Now consider Los Angeles.
Freddie Freeman has produced 23.7 rWAR under his six-year, $162 million contract through 2026. Shohei Ohtani has contributed another 18.9, while Yoshinobu Yamamoto has accumulated 12.7.
That’s 55.3 rWAR from three players, compared with a negative combined return from Colorado’s entire qualifying group.
Of course, the Dodgers spent considerably more money to get those results. Their qualifying contracts account for approximately $784 million in salary through 2026, or $11.4 million per rWAR.
San Diego has been even more efficient, spending roughly $246 million while generating 39.7 rWAR, or about $6.2 million per win. Ha-Seong Kim alone contributed 15.1 rWAR under his four-year, $28 million agreement.
San Francisco received 5.2 rWAR from Carlos Rodón and 7.1 from Matt Chapman under their original agreements.
Every organization has expensive contracts it would like to forget. Arizona certainly didn’t get what it hoped for from Madison Bumgarner or Jordan Montgomery, and even the Dodgers have made costly mistakes.
Colorado, meanwhile, spent approximately $184 million on its qualifying agreements through 2026 and received a combined -3.5 rWAR.
A positive return would have been nice.
Down on the farm
Both Colorado and San Diego brought back roughly 16% of their recorded minor-league free-agent agreements from 2020 through 2026. But the Padres recorded 128 agreements compared with just 67 for the Rockies.
During 2024 and 2025 alone, San Diego recorded 50 minor-league agreements, followed by San Francisco with 39, Los Angeles with 31 and Arizona with 28.
Colorado recorded just 20.
Minor-league free agency offers relatively inexpensive opportunities to build depth, create competition and find players who might benefit from different coaching or a change of scenery.
For a team that has struggled to develop pitching, that seems like a market worth exploring.
Signs of life in 2026
Free agency is only one part of roster construction, and Colorado’s lack of activity appears to have extended beyond it.
During 2024 and 2025, the Rockies recorded just 14 acquisitions through trades and cash deals, fewer than every other NL West team. They also traded away only eight players, compared with 46 for San Diego and 38 for Los Angeles.
In 2026, however, the Rockies recorded 15 acquisitions through trades and cash deals, six waiver claims and 12 players traded away.
Paul DePodesta and Josh Byrnes have also shown a willingness to pursue outside starting pitching. During their first offseason, ahead of the 2026 season, they signed Michael Lorenzen, José Quintana and Tomoyuki Sugano to major-league contracts.
The Rockies pursued a different type of player in 2026, but their overall free-agent activity remained relatively unchanged. Colorado recorded just 15 combined major- and minor-league free-agent agreements, still fewer than any of its division rivals.
More activity, better results?
So which has hurt the Rockies more? Their reluctance to participate in free agency, or their inability to identify the right players when they do?
Maybe the Rockies would have been just as bad if they’d signed twice as many free agents. Given the returns on some of their biggest contracts, I wouldn’t rule it out.
Signing more players won’t help much if the Rockies can’t identify and develop the right ones. But free agency offers opportunities to add talent without surrendering prospects, and the market is open.
For now, I’d settle for more activity. After years of watching a moribund organization, a little movement would be welcome.
After all, seven years of relative inactivity haven’t produced much worth protecting.
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