Rockies signed SS Chad Stevens to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training.

Stevens heads to Colorado as extra middle infield depth entering next year after going 2-for-13 with seven strikeouts during his first taste of big-league action with the Angels this past season. The 26-year-old shortstop batted .290/.375/.480 with 18 homers and 20 steals in 528 plate appearances over 126 games at the Triple-A level in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League this past season.

The Rockies’ Paul DePodesta said he’s looking to add veterans with defensive versatility to the major league roster.

With any luck, he’ll make better picks than the likes of Thairo Estrada and Kyle Farmer. DePodesta will want to leave paths for Kyle Karros, Adael Amador, Ryan Ritter, Zac Veen, Yanquiel Fernández and Sterlin Thompson to contribute next season, but he might want most of them in Triple-A initially. That could mean adding two infielders and one outfielder.

The Rockies have hired Tommy Tanous away from the Mets as an assistant general manager.

He’ll be focused on scoring and player development. Tanous spent the last 15 years with the Mets, including the last three as a vice president of player evaluation and a special advisor to David Stearns. The addition, which comes just days after the hiring of Josh Byrnes as GM, seems like another step forward for a Rockies front office trending towards competence.

The Padres, Mets, Phillies and Yankees are among the teams to have inquired about the Rockies’ Brenton Doyle, a source told 7News’s Ari Alexander.

The Rockies might be selling low on Doyle to move him now after a tough season in which he dealt with a family tragedy, but there’s still evidentially a pretty strong market for a 27-year-old who rates as one of the game’s top defensive center fielders and who flashed some legitimate offensive potential in 2024. It’d still might make more sense to keep him; he’s four years away from free agency and the organization doesn’t have anyone else capable of handling center field in Coors.

Jimmy Herget, who threw 83 1/3 innings out of the Rockies’ pen last season, will be tried as a starting pitcher next spring.

The 32-year-old Herges hasn’t been a starter since his Junior year at the University of South Florida in 2015. The Reds made him a sixth-round pick that year and immediately moved him to the pen in the minors. He was outstanding for the Rockies last season, finishing with a 2.48 ERA and an 81/26 K/BB over 59 appearances. Even if the transition goes well, he certainly doesn’t figure to offer any fantasy value.

The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports that the Rockies will name Josh Byrnes as the new general manager.

Byrnes will serve under president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta. The 55-year-old Byrnes has been the Dodgers’ senior vice president of baseball operations since 2014, but he was previously the general manager for the Diamondbacks from 2005-2010 and then for the Padres from 2011-2014. His primary responsibilities for the Dodgers included supervising the team’s scouting and player development, so his experience will be leaned on heavily as the Rockies try to turn their organization around.

Rockies signed RHP John Brebbia to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training.

Brebbia bolsters Colorado’s bullpen depth heading into next spring after making 22 relief appearances between the Tigers and Braves last season, finishing with a bloated 7.71 ERA across 23 1/3 innings of work. The 35-year-old journeyman has made 376 appearances in the big leagues dating back to 2017.

Rockies signed INF Nicky Lopez to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training.

Lopez fortifies Colorado’s infield depth and will compete for a bench role as a defensive specialist in spring training after spending most of last season at the Triple-A level, hitting .267/.303/.317 with zero homers and seven steals across 70 games. The light-hitting 30-year-old got into 18 games between the Cubs and Angels this past season, going just 1-for-24 at the dish. He’s merely emergency organizational depth at this stage of his career.

Rockies re-signed RHP Brayan Castillo to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training.

Castillo did a nice job in 41 appearances between Double-A Hartford and Triple-A Albuquerque in 2025, compiling a 2.94 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and a 64/27 K/BB ratio across 52 innings of work. With a strong showing in Cactus League action, it’s possible that the 25-year-old hurler could push for a spot in the Rockies’ Opening Day bullpen.

Rockies signed LHP Adam Laskey to a minor league contract.

The 27-year-old left-hander spent the past two seasons in the Marlins’ organization. In 2025, he compiled a 4.11 ERA, 1.38 WHIP and a 75/32 K/BB ratio over 85 1/3 innings in 27 appearances (19 starts) between Double-A Pensacola and Triple-A Jacksonville. He’ll add pitching depth for the Rockies.

Rockies signed LHP Parker Mushinski to a minor league contract.

Mushinski is a longtime Astros prospect who had a 5.45 ERA in 33 major league innings from 2022-24. He made his way to the Guardians system last season and had a 3.78 ERA and a 66/33 K/BB in 50 innings out of the bullpen for Triple-A Columbus. He should have a chance to compete for a bullpen spot in spring training.

Rockies signed OF Drew Avans to a minor league contract.

Rockies signed OF Drew Avans to a minor league contract.

Avans made his major-league debut this past season, getting into eight games between the Athletics and Brewers. The 29-year-old outfielder, who forged a solid .776 OPS with eight homers and 40 steals in 100 games at the Triple-A level last year. will presumably have an opportunity to compete for a bench role with the Rockies next spring.

Rockies designated 1B Michael Toglia for assignment.

The first significant move of the Paul DePodesta era. Toglia’s run with the Rockies comes to a close after just 280 games over the last four seasons where he managed to wallop 42 home runs but also struck out a whopping 373 times over 1,067 plate appearances. The 27-year-old first baseman received plenty of opportunities but failed to cut back on the strikeouts, whiffing just over 39 percent of the time at the major-league level this past season. Toglia’s immense over-the-fence power upside remains intact but he’ll need to revamp his swing and approach to have any shot at sustained success in the big leagues.

Rockies acquired LHP Brennan Bernardino from the Red Sox for OF Braiden Ward.

Bernardino was a key component of Boston’s relief mix over the past three seasons, recording a strong 3.46 ERA across 153 1/3 innings of work over 167 appearances. The 33-year-old southpaw becomes one of the stronger high-leverage options in Colorado’s bullpen heading into next season, assuming he checks out fine after finishing last year on the shelf with a lat strain.

Rockies designated LHP Ryan Rolison for assignment.

Rolison’s time with the Rockies is over after he posted a disastrous 7.02 ERA across 42 1/3 innings over 31 appearances this past season. The 28-year-old former first-round pick will undoubtedly benefit from a change of scenery and there might be another organization out there willing to kick the tires here.

Rockies selected the contracts of OF Sterlin Thompson, RHP Gabriel Hughes and LHP Welinton Herrera from Triple-A Albuquerque.

Colorado decided not to leave Thompson exposed after he batted .296/.392/.519 with 18 homers and 12 steals across 120 games in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League this past season. The 24-year-old corner outfielder was the club’s first-round pick in the 2022 MLB Draft and should enter spring training with a chance to win a roster spot.

Paul DePodesta was officially named as the Rockies’ president of baseball operations on Friday.

The 52-year-old executive returns to baseball after spending the last 10 years with the NFL’s Cleveland Browns as their chief strategy officer. He certainly has his work cut out for him trying to turn around a Rockies’ franchise that went 43-119 in 2025 and hasn’t had a winning season since 2018. One of his first orders of business will be to find a manager to lead his ballclub. There were nine managerial vacancies in Major League Baseball when the offseason began, only the Rockies’ gig remains open.

Rockies hired Paul DePodesta as their new president of baseball operations.

For a franchise haunted by physics, altitude, and analytics, hiring DePodesta feels like an experiment ripped from a sabermetric fever dream — the Rockies’ first real attempt to conquer the mathematical challenges Coors Field presents. The 52-year-old executive takes over as the Rockies’ top decision-maker after spending the past decade in the NFL as the Cleveland Browns’ chief strategy officer. DePodesta’s revolutionary work with the Athletics two decades ago — immortalized in Michael Lewis’ best-selling book Moneyball — helped redefine how modern front offices operate at the time. He later served as the Dodgers’ general manager from 2004–2005 and as the Mets’ vice president of player development and scouting from 2010–2016. DePodesta faces a daunting challenge in trying to conquer Coors Field’s unforgiving offensive environment and rebuild an organization that hasn’t had a winning season since 2018 and has to contend with a loaded NL West division.

Paul DePodesta has a “strong chance” of becoming the Rockies’ new head of baseball operations, according to MLB.com’s Thomas Harding.

The New York Post’s John Sherman says it’s a done deal. DePodesta, part of the Moneyball A’s in the early part of the century, has spent the last 10 years working for the Cleveland Browns as their chief strategy officer. He also spent 2004 and ’05 as the Dodgers’ GM in the Frank McCourt days and worked for the Padres and Mets for a time. Bringing him back to baseball after such a long time away would seem to be a risky move, but it’s not like things can get any worse in Colorado.

Rockies claimed RHP Garrett Acton off waivers from the Rays.

Acton, 27, returned from Tommy John surgery to post a 3.68 ERA and a 71/27 K/BB in 58 2/3 innings in Triple-A last season. He also pitched one scoreless frame in the majors for the Rays. He’ll get a chance to compete for a spot in the Rockies pen in spring training.

Rockies activated INF/OF Kris Bryant and RHP Jeff Criswell from the 60-day injured list.

Barring some surprisingly good news, Bryant will probably go right back on the 60-day injured list once spring training starts. There hasn’t been anything to suggest his back will allow him to contribute going forward.

Rockies claimed 1B/OF Troy Johnston off waivers from the Marlins.

Johnston, 28, finally got his first chance to play in the majors in August and did solid work in hitting .277/.331/.420 in 121 plate appearances. He doesn’t offer much upside, but he gives the Rockies another potentially adequate first base stopgap to go along with Blaine Crim and Michael Toglia. They could compete for the job in spring training as the Rockies await the arrival of Charlie Condon.

Rockies 1B/3B/OF prospect Charlie Condon went 2-for-6 with an RBI on Tuesday in Arizona Fall League action.

Condon has made up for lost development time with a scorching run in Arizona, batting .356 (26-for-73) with four extra-base hits and nearly as many walks (11) as strikeouts (14) through 19 games. The 22-year-old slugger — the third overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft — possesses enough over-the-fence power to project as an immediate fantasy contributor once he reaches Coors Field. He profiles as a top-60 dynasty prospect entering next season.

Chase Dollander (knee) is expected to be cleared to start a throwing program in December.

Dollander was shut down in early September with a patellar tendon strain in his left knee. The 24-year-old former top prospect is expected to have a mostly normal offseason and be ready for the start of spring training after finishing his rookie campaign with a disappointing 6.52 ERA, 1.55 WHIP and 82/49 K/BB ratio across 98 innings over 21 starts. The ninth overall pick from the 2023 MLB Draft has the high-octane arsenal required to overcome pitching in Coors Field, but it certainly amplifies the risk as he continues to acclimate to life in the big leagues.

The Rockies have declined the $7 million mutual option on Thairo Estrada’s contract for 2026, according to MLB.com’s Thomas Harding.

Technically, Estrada is arbitration-eligible so he’ll remain on Colorado’s 40-man roster instead of becoming a free agent. The club will have to decide whether to tender him a contract in a couple weeks. The 29-year-old infielder was limited to just 39 games this past season in his Rockies debut due to injury and its entirely possible he’ll be non-tendered and wind up back in free agency this offseason.

The Rockies declined their $7 million mutual option on INF Thairo Estrada for 2026, according to MLB.com’s Thomas Harding.

Technically, Estrada is arbitration-eligible so he’ll remain on Colorado’s 40-man roster instead of becoming a free agent. The club will have to decide whether to tender him a contract in a couple weeks. The 29-year-old infielder was limited to just 39 games this past season in his Rockies debut due to injury and its entirely possible he’ll be non-tendered and wind up back in free agency this offseason.

The Rockies won’t hire either of their two known finalists for their head of baseball operations job, sources told The Athletic.

Just went it seemed the Rockies were going to try functioning as a competent organization for once. Amiel Sawdaye of the Diamondbacks and Matt Forman of the Guardians were reported as the finalists for gig last week, and the Athletic’s Brittany Ghiroli said Sawdaye had emerged as the favorite. However, it appears that Sawdaye and the Rockies might have had different ideas when it came to contract terms. The Rockies aren’t thought to have any other finalists for the job, so they might be back at square one.

Matt Forman and Amiel Sawdaye might no longer be the frontrunners to lead the Rockies’ baseball operations department, according to The New York Post’s Jon Heyman.

With the Fall Classic in the rearview mirror and a compelling hot stove season rapidly approaching, the most fascinating question in baseball might be which executive is willing to take on the daunting challenge of running Colorado’s front office — and, in turn, conquering Coors Field. Forman, who has been with Cleveland’s front office since 2013, and Sawdaye, who joined Arizona in 2016, were believed to be the leading candidates for the Rockies’ top job after the club moved on from Bill Schmidt at the end of last season. But it’s possible the club will go back to the drawing board. It’s a less-than-ideal situation with free agency set to begin in short order.

Kris Bryant (back) told The Denver Post he’s not considering retirement.

Bryant was limited to just 10 games this past season before omnipresent back issues put him on the shelf for the rest of the year. The 33-year-old former NL MVP has played in just 170 of a possible 648 contests over the last four seasons since signing a seven-year, $182 million contract the Rockies. He was diagnosed with lumbar degenerative disease, a chronic back condition, back in April and underwent an ablation procedure a couple weeks later. He’s still experiencing pain while performing baseball activities, with the exception of swinging a bat, which puts his career in jeopardy. His long-term health is the much greater concern at this advanced juncture of his baseball life. Simply put, it seems highly unlikely that he’ll be an everyday player again. It’s possible the Rockies will make a decision on his future with the club this offseason once they decide on a new head of baseball operations since there are still three years and $78 million left on his albatross contract.