The Rockies have plenty of problems, but Hunter Goodman isn’t one of them.
Colorado just wrapped up its fourth straight 100-loss season, yet the blame lands squarely on the pitching side. The starting rotation was the real wreckage after the trade deadline, putting up a 7.00+ ERA. The bats, on the other hand, gave the club something to build around.
That’s why moving Goodman this winter would be the wrong call. He’s already established himself as one of the best hitters in baseball, with 41 home runs in 2026, making him one of six players in either league to reach 40.
He’s a 2x All-Star, a Silver Slugger, and was robbed of a Home Run Derby invite in 2026. There’s no reason to ship out a player like that when the offense is starting to take shape around him.
It’s no longer just the Goodman-and-Mickey Moniak show, either. Moniak signed a two-year extension this August because he believes in what the team is doing and wants to find success with the organization, not jump ship to somewhere else. He knows that with key young players, Colorado can climb the ranks of the National League.
The young core keeps getting louder. TJ Rumfield was in the NL Rookie of the Year mix after batting .300 with an OPS over .840, along with 16 homers and 73 RBI.
Cole Carrigg was just as impressive in his own way, even in only 93 games. He hit 12 home runs, drove in 53 runs, stole 11 bases and slashed .279/.341/.477.
Had he debuted before June, he would have been right there with Rumfield.
Charlie Condon also looks ready for the next step. After hitting 27 home runs and piling up nearly 100 RBI in Albuquerque, there doesn’t seem to be much left for him to prove in Triple-A. Opening Day should be his time.
That’s the bigger picture here: the Rockies may finally be assembling an offense worth believing in. Goodman is the centerpiece, and trading him would only create a hole they’d spend years trying to fill.
Paul DePodesta’s job is to find better-than-bottom-of-the-barrel pitching, not tear apart the lineup’s most important bat. Colorado can’t afford to deal away the one player it may never replace.
In Other News...
Rockies Finally Have Trade Leverage To Address Their Biggest Problem
The Rockies are suddenly in a position they have not enjoyed often enough in recent years: they have enough outfield depth to create real roster flexibility. President of baseball operations Paul DePodesta said the club has seven or eight players capable of contributing at the major league level, a surplus that gives Colorado something it can actually work with as it looks to improve a roster that badly needs pitching help.
Colorados biggest issue remains obvious after finishing the 2026 season with the worst team ERA in the league, and that is where the front office will likely focus its attention. DePodesta also pointed to depth at second base, another area that could help the Rockies in trade talks, giving them multiple ways to build leverage as they try to turn excess position-player depth into arms that can stabilize the staff. [Read more 🡒]
Rockies Young Bats Just Put Real Pressure On One Big Weakness
The Rockies spent most of 2026 buried by pitching, not by a lack of life in the lineup. Even in a 104-loss season, the position players gave the club something to build around, with Hunter Goodman, Cole Carrigg, TJ Rumfield, Jake McCarthy, Charlie Condon and Mickey Moniak all helping keep the offense from going completely dark while the rotation unraveled after the trade deadline.
That contrast is what makes the offseason so interesting in Denver. If Colorado can get even ordinary work from its pitching staff, especially the starting rotation, the same young bats that flashed through a lost year could make the roster look a lot more competitive next season. The offense has already shown enough to suggest this is not a total teardown, but the margin for progress still runs straight through the mound. [Read more 🡒]
Rockies Prospect Stu Flesland Is Forcing A Bigger Pitching Question
Stu Flesland III spent 2023 turning himself into a name the Rockies had to notice, moving from High-A Spokane to Double-A Hartford and then getting a look in the Arizona Fall League. The left-hander also worked through one rough outing at Triple-A Albuquerque, but he finished the year showing better command and real effectiveness in the playoffs, enough to keep him in the conversation as more than just another arm in the system.
Rockies pitching coordinator Dan Meyer has pointed to Fleslands deception and quality stuff as reasons the organization likes him, and that kind of profile tends to create a bigger question fast. If a pitcher can miss bats, handle adversity and offer value both as a starter and a reliever, the next step is less about whether he belongs and more about how Colorado chooses to use him. [Read more 🡒]