Why did the Colorado Rockies trade for Jake McCarthy?

Apparently, the Rockies feel the need for speed.

Renee Dechert

16 Jan 2026 — 5 min read

Jake McCarthy

The news dropped last Saturday: The Colorado Rockies had traded RHP Josh Grosz to the Arizona Diamondbacks for outfielder Jake McCarthy.

Given the Rockies absolute surfeit of outfielders, it seemed an odd move.

Plus, McCarthy, 28, was coming off a career-worst season. He spent 2025 shuffling between the D-backs and their Triple-A team and slashed .204/.247/.345 for the Snakes. That total includes seven doubles, five triples, and four homers, leading to a -0.1 fWAR.

Still, it’s worth considering what the move might mean in terms of Paul DePodesta’s roster building for the 2026 Rockies.

McCarthy has offensive potential

If you look at his career stats, you’ll find that McCarthy is (so far) an every-other-year kind of player. Consider this:

2022 — .283/.342/.427; 23 stolen bases; 2.2 fWAR
2023 — .245/.318/.326; 26 stolen bases; 0.1 fWAR
2o24 – .285/.349/.400; 25 stolen bases; 3.0 fWAR
2025 — .204/.247/.345; 6 stolen bases; 0.1 fWAR

He’s not been consistent, but the potential is clear. Plus, check out those stolen bases. If McCarthy had stolen even 20 bases last season, which would be low for him in a good year, he would have led the Rockies in that category. (Jordan Beck stole 19 bases, and Brenton Doyle had 18.)

Does he hit a lot of homers? No. But McCarthy’s game involves getting on base and then using his legs to score.

As he told Thomas Harding earlier this week,

“After 2024 having a good year, you think, ‘This is what I do. Now let's maybe tap into the stuff that I don't do well. . . . What happened was I got a little better at some of the things that I was lacking, but I think I completely forfeited the things that made me a good player and gave me a lot of opportunity for the Diamondbacks.”

The Rockies are interested in McCarthy’s speed. Here’s what DePodesta said about the McCarthy trade yesterday in a Zoom media availability: “He is one of the fastest players in Major League Baseball. He's been a very good base runner.”

To quantify that, McCarthy’s sprint speed is 29.9 feet/second, which is the eighth best in MLB. (For those who are curious, Benton Doyle comes in at 29.5 feet/second.)

Think back to what Warren Schaeffer has said about building a team that is more aggressive on the base paths: “We want to run the bases, put constant pressure on the pitcher,” he said at last month’s Winter Meetings. With the addition of McCarthy, it easy to see the Rockies getting stronger in that area.

If McCarthy can become more consistent at the plate, he represents an offensive threat.

One other thing? He’s a lefty. The Rockies are trying to even out their left-right platoons, and McCarthy helps balance a righty-heavy lineup.

He also has defensive potential

DePodesta said of McCarthy’s defense, “He’s also a very good outfielder who can cover a lot of ground.”

McCarthy wears a red D-backs jersey and waits in the outfield. — Jake McCarthy

McCarthy can play all three outfield positions, but for the D-backs, he has been most successful in right field. (In all other outfield spots, he has below-average DRS and ARM.)

Still, DePodesta likes the combination:

We like the mix of guys we have right now. If you look at the four who took the majority of the playtime last year with Jordan, Brenton, Mickey, and Tyler, and then you add Jake and add mix we now have, you'd have two left-handed hitters, three right-handed hitters. A lot of those guys can play multiple spots in the outfield, some guys with power, some guys who can really run.

So, the Rockies are diversifying.

Why did the Rockies make this trade?

It’s interesting for a few reasons.

First, the Rockies have traded within the division for the first time since 2012. (Remember Matt Reynolds?) This suggests that DePodesta et al. have taken a very different approach to working with their fellow NL West teams than the Rockies have historically.

Second, notice who DePodesta does not mention: Zach Veen, Yanquiel Fernández, Cole Carrigg, Benny Montgomery, and a host of other outfield prospects.

The suggestion, then, is that those players are headed for additional development — or perhaps a trade. Last season, the Rockies tended to rush young players — especially young pitchers – because of acute need, not because the players were ready. Acquiring Jake McCarthy signals that DePodesta will not be taking that approach. He intends to field a fully developed roster, waiting until prospects are ready for promotion.

Third, we know from reporting that Brenton Doyle has been a sought-after outfielder. (Since Kyle Tucker has signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers, that market may increase.) Whether the Rockies choose to move Doyle in the near term or after he has re-established his value, McCarthy gives them another MLB-ready outfielder while prospects continue to develop.

For McCarthy, this represents a fresh start. It was difficult to find a spot for him on a D-backs roster loaded with outfield talent, and McCarthy is positive about the change.

“I understand that this is an organization that wants to turn things around,” McCarthy told Harding. “Looking at last year, I want to turn things around, too. I'm right where I need to be.”

(Author’s Note: One other thing didn’t fit in the article, but I wanted to pass on: McCarthy and Saquon Barkley were the two best high school running backs in the state of Pennsylvania back in 2014. H/T to Mike Ferrin for that one. I had no idea.)

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