Evaluating the Colorado Rockies after the trade deadline

Let me begin with an apology.

That I wanted to write about the Colorado Rockies at the trade deadline was always clear, but Thursday got away from me. I thought I could get caught up on Friday, but then the Rockies had that wild and crazy game against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday night, so the newsletter didn’t happen. And finally, after the Rockies knocked out Paul Skenes in the sixth inning on Saturday, I found time to get caught up.

At this point, the trade deadline seems like old news, but in terms of the Rockies, I’m left with a couple of questions.

As a quick refresher, the Rockies made three trades:

• Ryan McMahon to the New York Yankees for Griffin Herring (LHP) and Josh Grosz (RHP).
• Tyler Kinley to Atlanta for Austin Smith (RHP).
• Jake Bird to the Yankees for Roc Riggio (2B) and Ben Shields (LHP).

General manager Bill Schmidt spoke with media on Friday and said the Rockies had set “a large ask” for relievers Seth Halvorsen and Victor Vodnik, who remain with the Rockies.

Grades assigned by sports writers tended to be fairly consistent. The Athletic gave the Rockies a “B-“ which agreed with CBS Sports’ evaluation. USA Today went with a “C” while Yahoo! Sports awarded a “B.” Then again, perhaps the Rockies were graded on a curve given how inactive they’ve been in previous trade markets.

I argued earlier that the Rockies needed to be aggressive. When 4:00 pm MDT passed and league front offices had put down their phones, did I wish the Rockies had moved more players? Yes. But it’s possible they just did not have many players other teams were interested in, especially given the number of teams that became sellers late in the process. (After all, since the Rockies are historically bad, how many good players can they have?)

But beyond the initial returns, I think it’s too early to grade the Rockies on their trade deadline decisions. First, we need to know the answers to some larger questions.

Did the Rockies make these trades as part of a rebuild?

If the Rockies traded McMahon, Kinley, and Bird as part of their efforts to plan for the future, then these seem like solid moves. It’s difficult to see these players making significant contributions to the Rockies in three years, so the time to move on is now, especially given the $32 million McMahon will be owed over the next two years.

In addition, the Rockies continued to build their pitching depth — and Riggio is kind of a fascinating player (which is a topic for another day). As we’ve seen this season, for the Rockies and other teams across baseball, it’s difficult to have enough pitching, and that part of the Rockies’ organization has certainly improved over the last three years.

By the time the 2025 season ends, if the Rockies announce they are bringing in an external evaluator to help them assess and improve their processes, then these trades were a good move. They helped the Rockies add to their financial resources and prepare for the future.

(Schmidt said they will look to use that money in the offseason in the free agent market.)

In other words, if this was part of the Rockies commitment to the rebuilding process, then these were productive moves.

Did the Rockies make these trades as part of a salary dump?

A second possibility is less encouraging.

If the purpose of trading McMahon, Kinley, and Bird was a salary dump designed to allow Dick Monfort to trim payroll rather than lean into a rebuild, then these moves should be viewed rather differently.

It would be reasonable to wonder if Monfort’s thinking in all this were to punt on the Rockies until the CBA expires after the 2026 season. Then he would have a leaner payroll headed into a presumed lockout. Monfort has said that he believes a salary cap and revenue sharing are essential for allowing mid-market teams to be competitive.

If he spent this trade deadline preparing for a lockdown because he thinks it will will eventually lead to revenue sharing, which he believes will be enough to fix the Rockies, then this trade deadline should be seen as a cynical ploy. It probably means that the Rockies front office has fundamentally misunderstood the problems with their organization.

Should that be the case and there’s really not any kind of meaningful rebuild going on, then this becomes a delay tactic in hopes of a magical post-CBA that Monfort believes will address the Rockies problems by changing MLB’s economic model.

I have my doubts that the Players’ Union will ever approve a salary cap — Bryce Harper recently said as much to commissioner Rob Manfred. And even if the union did approve the move, it would not address the Rockies’ issues, which are in approach rather than revenue.

I have no idea what Dick Monfort is thinking, but I suspect we’ll know more when the season ends, and we see the next steps the Rockies take — or do not take.

After that, I’ll be ready to assign grades.

What I’m Reading

• Ryan McMahon, wearing Yankee pinstripes, ready for pressure | Denver Post — If there’s a baseball story right now that I’m super interested in, it’s how Ryan McMahon fits in with the Yankees. Patrick Saunders describes the third baseman’s initial impressions.
• Marked safe from Deadline move, Márquez focused on guiding Rox youth | MLB.com — Thomas Harding spoke with the Rockies veteran about his role in the Rockies clubhouse.
• Dustin May has become a better person through adversity | FanGraphs — This one is worth reading for David Laurila s short interview with Warren Schaeffer and Nic Wilson.

Closing Thoughts

And that’s it for this week.

There’s always a certain bit of disorientation that takes place following the trade deadline: Players are on new teams, and the competitive balance changes among teams.

Certainly, it’s been a strange season for the Rockies who are 8-6 since the trade deadline. Interim manager Warren Schaeffer has told the clubhouse to consider the second half a new season, and it’s an approach that’s working for players. (Just to be clear, no one has lost track of how bad their 2025 record is.)

Keep an eye on Warming Bernabel, who’s one of the most exciting players on the Rockies roster right now, and look for additional roster changes. If Seth Halvorsen’s elbow injury is significant, expect to see more players called up. Plus, there’s the matter of finding a pitcher to take Antonio Senzatela’s place in the rotation.

The Rockies are not a good team, but they’re also pretty interesting.

As always, thanks for reading —

Renee

Rockies Pitch is a newsletter that focuses on Colorado Rockies baseball. Find me on Bluesky at @ReneeDechert.com.