Why I’m feeling optimistic about the Rockies

Apologies for running late. The semester is ending, and between that and some other commitments, I’m having trouble getting everything finished. But the week is over, and I’m caught up until Monday, so it’s time!

I also wanted to see Friday’s presser, where baseball president of operations introduced Josh Byrne, the new general manager. Here’s a sample if you’re interested.

Maybe I’m just exhausted and desperate.

Maybe all the losing has gotten to me.

Maybe I’m indulging in magical thinking, but I’m optimistic.

Here are five reasons why.

• Dick Monfort is stepping aside — I think there was skepticism that the patriarch would ever cede power, but by all appearances, he has. Part of this is the the matter is passing on assets to heirs in the way that extraordinarily wealthy people do. Part of this, probably, is fatigue on his part given the drubbing he has taken in the press. And probably part of this is Dick Monfort turning his attention to the coming lockout (because I really do believe he sees getting a salary cap as his ultimate goal and gift to baseball). But for whatever reason, he appears to have stepped away from daily Rockies decision-making, which is great news for fans.

• The Rockies brought in outside people — If you follow the Rockies, you’ve noticed the insularity for years. But national media began calling that out — really calling it out — last summer. Last week, Jake Mintz had a fairly devastating article about this as well.

But they’ve brought in two heavy hitters: Paul DePodesta and Josh Brynes. There is some skepticism about this given DePodesta’s decade-long NFL sabbatical, but he’s a smart guy, and in Friday’s presser, he was clear that part of the reason he brought on Byrnes was to help remediate his missing 10 years. As for Byrnes, it really didn’t hit me until I was watching the presser just what a risk he took in leaving the best team in MLB with maybe the greatest player ever for the historically bad Colorado Rockies.

How it goes, only time will reveal. But we’ve been asking for an outside presence for years, and the Rockies have provided it.

• They’re making changes — Obviously, it’s early in the process, and DePodesta is still building his staff. But look at what they’ve done already: Former first-round draft picks Ryan Rolison, Michael Toglia, and Drew Romo are no longer with the organization. Under previous front offices, the Rockies might have given these players (and Anthony Molina) another year to figure things out. Not any more. They’re off to new teams.

In Friday’s presser, DePodesta and Byrnes were clear that they have a plan. They’re just not sharing any details.

• They’re leaning into data — Again, it’s early, but everything DePodesta has says indicates that rebuilding the analytics department is a key task. And if anyone knows how to use data, it’s Byrnes. The Los Angeles Dodgers were all about maximizing what players could do, and he’s bringing that mindset to Colorado.

I’ll be curious to see what the Opening Day lineup looks like because Byrnes was a bit (understandably) cagey in his answers, but I thought this was interesting:

There are some guys that, like I said, we’ve liked over time, and you need more of them. You need more good players. And Paul and I have talked about it just conceptually, like raising the floor, like having a deeper team with fewer gaps, innings, plate appearances that are going to players that aren’t quite what we need. So there’s a lot of ways to start attacking it, but there’s definitely some talent in place, and some players over time that I know have piqued my interest and piqued the interest of the Dodgers.

Who are the players who “aren’t quite what we need,” and who are the players that are “talent in place?” After we have answers to these questions, we’ll have a better sense of DePodesta’s plan.

• The Rockies are actually communicating with the outside world — This goes closely with insularity, but the Rockies were just so bad at communicating: with other teams (according to reporting) and with fans (according to our lived experience). But look at how things have already changed.

DePodesta has been very available: At the GM meetings and with Denver media. He was present for the introductory pressers of manager Warren Schaeffer as well as Josh Byrnes. And he has more availabilities at the coming Winter Meetings. I’ve argued that the PBO will largely become the face of this rebuilding franchise, and my thoughts haven’t changed — though I think he’ll pass the mantle to Hunter Goodman, Kyle Freeland, and Ezequiel Tovar as the season nears.

Watch this five-minute video the Rockies released last week:

Try to image Jeff Bridich or Bill Schmidt doing this. You can’t because it never would have happened. They — and the Rockies — just weren’t like that. Perhaps you missed Walker Monfort’s appearance on a DNVR podcast last week:

Monfort asked to appear on the podcast. Express whatever cynicism you’d like about ownership, but Walker is at least making an effort to answer questions and talk with fans.

So me, I’m giving hope a chance.

Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe it’s all just purple eye candy. Maybe nothing changes, but for now, Reader, I’m a believer.

Closing thoughts

There will be more news out of the Winter Meetings, I’m sure. One of the more interesting questions will be if they take any players in the Rule 5 Draft. Plus, we should see more coaching hires in the next week.

It’s an exciting time!

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