The Colorado Rockies have (apparently) hired Paul DePodesta. Now what?

What a week for fans of the Colorado Rockies.

First, reports early in the week indicated that the Rockies’ search for a president of baseball operations/general manager had failed. (It turns out, Matt Forman withdrew, and Amiel Sawdaye declined the offer.)

Then there were rumors that former Rockies reliever Adam Ottavino would be interested in running the Rockies’ front office. (Later in the week, Ottavino said the chances of that happening were unlikely.)

And, finally, yesterday, the answers began to emerge.

Wait. Paul DePodesta, who’s been with the Cleveland Browns football team since 2016?

Leave it to the Rockies to make the weirdest possible choice.

You can read more about DePodesta here, here, here, here, and here. These stories provide information about his background and work history.

It’s probably worth highlighting this point from Joe Reedy of the Associated Press:

During his nearly 20 seasons in MLB, he was the only executive to win divisional titles with five different organizations — the New York Mets, San Diego Padres, Athletics, Los Angeles Dodgers and Cleveland.

Also notable is this from 9News:

According to a source, DePodesta is expected to hire a general manager and additional front office personnel.

It’s a lot to unpack, and I’ll be honest with you: I really haven’t had enough time to think through it. However, here are some initial reactions.

• The Rockies went outside the organization — Everyone agrees that the Rockies are too insular, but with this pick, they have certainly bucked that trend. For an organization that has been hesitant to go outside, bringing in DePodesta marks a sea change.
• Sure, he’s the Moneyball guy, but that was more than 20 years ago — Michael Lewis’ account of how the Oakland Athletics changed baseball was published in 2003, so DePodesta is more than 20 years removed from that young MLB executive. True, since then he worked in a number of organizations (though the Dodgers fired him after 20 months), but he’s missed a lot of baseball. Then again, maybe he picks up where he left off. His baseball analytics chops are undeniable.
• He spent the last nine years in the NFL — Perhaps he just wanted a challenge, but the fact remains that DePodesta has not worked in baseball in a while, and he was not especially successful during his NFL sojourn with the Browns. (The Deshaun Watson trade, which he facilitated, is deeply problematic for a number of reasons.) Maybe he learned something from football that he’ll bring to the Rockies, but it seems more likely that he’ll just be behind. (Death, taxes, and the Rockies signing folks whose heyday has passed.) BTW, Browns fans are positively jubilant that he’s leaving Cleveland.
• He’s not going to be a public relations person — According to The Athletic, DePodesta hasn’t done an interview since 2022. This is from the same article: “He always had a behind-the-scenes, mostly secretive role [with the Browns], and continued to live in La Jolla, California, and either work remotely or commute to Northeast Ohio.” Then there’s this from his Wikipedia entry: “DePodesta did not feel comfortable in the spotlight after the book's release.” Someone needs to talk to the press, but it’s sure not going to be Dick Monfort and probably not Paul DePodesta, either.

Trying to guess the Rockies’ logic is a fool’s errand, but, Reader, I’m going to give it my best try.

My theory of the 2026 Colorado Rockies is that everything Dick Monfort does — and as Connor Farrell wrote earlier this week, it’s clear that the elder Monfort is calling the shots — is in preparation for a lockdown following the MLB season.

I suspect DePodesta has been hired to address the Rockies analytics issues. He did so for the Athletics and other teams, and he figured out how to cut costs. I think Dick Monfort is looking to replicate that in Colorado, and he sees DePodesta as the person for the job. His assignment will be to build a cost-effective analytics staff and take on the quandary of baseball at elevation. I started skimming back through Moneyball last evening, and one thing that Lewis makes clear is Podesta’s genius and his interest in solving puzzles.

Coors Field is the ultimate baseball Rubik’s Cube.

Here’s a passage from Moneyball that’s on my mind right now:

Paul wanted to look at stats because the stats offered him new ways of understanding amateur players. He had graduated from college with distinction in economics, but his interest, discouraged by the Harvard economics department, had been on the uneasy border between psychology and economics. He was fascinated by irrationality, and the opportunities it created in human affairs for anyone who resisted it. He was just the sort of person who might have made an easy fortune in finance, but the market for baseball players, in Paul’s view, was far more interesting than anything Wall Street offered.

If you are “fascinated by irrationality,” Paul DePodesta, have we got a quandary for you (on so many levels).

But I think DePodesta sees himself doing his work in the background — maybe he won’t even be at Coors Field very often because it’s clear he prefers La Jolla.

That makes his appointment of a general manager especially interesting and important. Patrick Saunders reported last week that the Rockies did not intend to add both a PBO and a GM. However, that appears to have changed.

The GM, then, it seems to me, will take on personnel and communication issues while DePodesta does the math.

And guess who John DePodesta grew up with Alexandria, Virginia?

Thad Levine.

Clearly, the GM could be anyone, but Levine strikes me as being very good at some of the tasks DePodesta is not. In the near term, DePodesta and his new team will need to make some pressing roster decisions because the clock is ticking.

I expect a lot of this to become clear in the coming week, most notably the new GM and the Rockies manager. DePodesta, I suspect, will attend the GM meetings in Las Vegas next week and speak to media. Then I don’t think we’ll hear much more from him. The GM will be doing that.

Ryan Spilborghs‘ initial reaction on Loud Outs yesterday was an optimistic skepticism — and it’s one I share. But this is going to mark a tremendous departure for Dick Monfort and the Colorado Rockies, and that’s not nothing.

I plan to spend the weekend re-reading Moneyball — and you really have to read the book rather than watch the film because of Lewis’ description of the process. But if I remember correctly, DePodesta, at least in the early 2000s, was a big fan of OBP. If his math still shows the value of OBP, you’ve got to wonder how much longer, say, Ezequiel Tovar will be with the Rockies.

But, again, that was more than 20 years ago, which is eons in baseball years.

I’m not sure how I feel about any of this, but I didn’t get a vote.

MLB writers, like Ken Rosenthal this morning, are questioning this approach. Rosenthal called it “perhaps more shocking than any of the managerial hires.”

Look, I was hoping for Amiel Sawdaye, but we are all going to have to except that the Rockies will never be like other teams.

Embrace the weirdness, I guess.

Accolades

Lost in all the hubbub yesterday was Hunter Goodman’s winning a Silver Slugger.

I wrote more about that here.

In a pretty grim Rockies season, Hunter Goodman was a much-needed bright spot.

Closing thoughts

Well, that escalated quickly.

There will be quite a bit to write about in the coming days. In addition to whatever happens with the Rockies front office, they also made two waiver claims: IF/OF Troy Johnson (Miami Marlins) and RHP Garrett Acton (Tampa Bay Rays).

Meanwhile, Orlando Arcia, Thairo Estrada, and Kyle Farmer are all headed to free agency.

In the near term, the roster moves should be fast and furious.

Stay tuned, and 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.