What does the Rockies’ list of non-roster invites show?

Late yesterday afternoon, the Colorado Rockies announced their spring training roster, including 20 non-roster invites.

What stands out (besides the fact that Antonio Senzatela is listed as “Anthony”)?

Here are an few ideas.

The newbies

Four Rockies prospects will attend their first spring training:

• Charlie Condon (1B — Hartford)
• Konner Eaton (LHP - Hartford)
• Cole Messina (C — Hartford)
• Jared Thomas (OF — Hartford)

There are also additional prospects who have attended spring training before:

• Bryant Bettancourt (C — Hartford)
• Cole Carrigg (OF — Hartford)
• Brayan Castill0 (RHP — Albuquerque)
• Sean Sullivan (LHP — Hartford)

And then in a category all his own is T.J. Rumfield, a first baseman recently of the New York Yankees.

If you follow Rockies prospects, none of these names are unfamiliar. The Rockies want to see what these players can do. These are probably the players seen as being on the cusp of promotion.

Those previously with other teams

Eleven of those receiving invitations previously played for other organizations:

• Drew Avans (OF — Milwaukee Brewers) — Why? Came up through the Los Angeles Dodgers’ system and had a 14% K% and 40 steals in 2024.
• Valente Bellozo (RHP — Miami Marlins) — Why? He worked with Alon Leichman and could make the rotation.
• John Brebbia (RHP — Boston Red Sox) — Why? You can never have too much pitching.
• Eiberson Castellanos (RHP — Philadelphia Phillies) — Why? Again, never too much pitching.

• Adam Laskey (LHP — Miami Marlins) — He’s a lefty with Marlins experience.
• Nicky Lopez (IF — Chicago Cubs) — Why? He has a 14.3% K% and excellent defense.
• Vimael Machín (UTIL — Baltimore Orioles) — Why? He’s versatile and can play all four infield positions as well as the outfield corners.
• Kyle McCann (C — The Athletics) — Why? After struggling in 2024, he spent 2025 with the Piratas de Campeche in the hitter-friendly Mexican League, and he did well there. Plus, he provides backup depth.

• Parker Mushinski (LHP — Cleveland Guardians) — Why? He’s a lefty who initiates soft contact, but when he doesn’t, he really doesn’t.
• Chad Stevens (UTIL — Los Angeles Angels) – Why? He can play all four infield positions plus the outfield corners.
• Brett Sullivan (C — Pittsburgh Pirates) — Why? He’s a depth-option catcher.

A few takeaways

So far, president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta has been quiet about his plans, but we do know a few things based on statements at Rockies Fest.

• The Rockies are looking for versatile position players — Consider how many of these utility players can play pretty much anywhere. The Rockies are looking for flexibility for a couple of reasons. First, just practically speaking, they want players who can play a range of positions because this gives them flexibility. (Remember last season when the Rockies ran out of infielders? All these versatile players ensure that won’t happen.) Second, if this is an inventory year — and I think it is — the Rockies want players who can easily move from say, second base to third, should they want to call up someone and see how they perform at the MLB level. Third, when the Rockies start trading players, they will still have a viable roster because they can just move someone into an empty spot. Think of it as a Garanimals roster.
• The Rockies are looking for pitchers with a wide range of skills — DePodesta and Leichman have been clear that they want pitchers who are willing to try things. Practically speaking, they want a lot of arms because a baseball team needs a lot of arms. In addition, however, they want a lot of different arms to try a lot of different things. A number of these players, Leichman has worked with before, so he, presumably, has a pretty clear sense of what he thinks they can bring.
• The Rockies need backup catchers — I wondered if perhaps they would bring back a waived Drew Romo, but that has not happened. Instead, the Rockies signed two veteran catchers. I would not be surprised to see McCann break camp with the Rockies while Braxton Fulford starts in Triple-A. But whatever happens, they do not have enough catching depth throughout their system. These signings help address that.

• These MiLB signings are easily DFA’d — One question I have is what DePodesta will do with those young players who weren’t really ready for The Show in 2025 but got called up anyway. Specifically, I’m thinking about Chase Dollander, Ryan Ritter, and Kyle Karros, for example. Last year, the Rockies promoted prospects because they did not have enough players. I do not expect DePodesta to do that, and I think a number of players who finished with the Rockies will start in ABQ. However, with an easily DFA’d utility signing, when a young player is ready for promotion, making the move is easy.
• These MiLB signings are veterans — This is a year for mentoring young players, and these veteran signees are in a position to do that. This is true both for position players and pitchers.

None of this is to say that all the NRIs will make the Rockies’ roster. Clearly, that won’t happen. But some of them will.

I expect the Isotopes to begin with a fairly robust roster. I think, for example, Rumfield, Karros, Ritter, Amador, Fulford, Dollander, Agnos, and Brown start there so that they can develop more fully. DePodesta simply isn’t going to promote players before they are ready.

The Rockies roster, then, will be more experienced if a lot less interesting.

Look, no one’s getting excited about an infield with Troy Johnston/Blaine Crim at 1B; Edouard Julien at 2B; and Willi Castro at 3B with Machín, Stevens, and Lopez providing backup. But I think it’s very possible that’s what happens — at least when the Rockies break camp.

Then, as the prospects earn their stripes, we’ll see promotions and roster moves as DePodesta finds the players he wants to build around.

And should one of these NRIs start doing something interesting, then DePodesta will have a player to move in a trade — and there will be trades. Do not get attached to any player in 2026 because they may well be moved.

I am certain of very little this season, but I am sure of one thing: The 2026 Colorado Rockies in March are going to look very different than the 2026 Colorado Rockies in September.

And that, Reader, is where the fun will be.

Oh, and bookmark this:

Closing thoughts

Next week, we’ll start getting early reports from spring training, so we’ll have more things to talk about.

And soon after that, we’ll have baseball — and life is always better with baseball.

It’s going to be a fun (if unusual for Rockies fans) season.

As always, thanks for reading —

Renee

Rockies Pitch is a newsletter that focuses on Colorado Rockies baseball.

Find me on Bluesky at @ReneeDechert.com or send an email to Renee@RockiesPitch.com