The Colorado Rockies have crossed into a level of losing that almost defies belief.
On Tuesday, a 7-2 loss to the Diamondbacks locked in their fourth straight 100-loss season, making them the first franchise to do that since the New York Mets ran the same ugly streak from 1962 to ’65. The contrast is hard to ignore: those Mets were an expansion club in their first years of existence. The Rockies have been around for more than 30 years.
Colorado’s collapse has now stretched far beyond a single bad run. The club has not reached the postseason since 2018, when it was swept by the Brewers in the NLDS.
Since then, the Rockies are 459-729, a .386 clip that works out to the pace of a 63-win team. The last four seasons have been especially brutal: 59-103 in 2023, 61-101 in ’24 and then 43-119 in ’25.
The biggest reason is the same one that keeps showing up every year: pitching. Colorado has finished last in ERA in each of the past three seasons and, barring something dramatic, will do it again in 2026.
The Rockies’ current starting rotation has a 6.20 ERA, worst in MLB. Coors Field has always made pitching difficult, but that reality has not changed into a workable plan for the organization.
The Rockies haven’t had a winning home record since 2022, and the combination of bad drafting, weak development and shaky pitching acquisitions has left the franchise with no reliable answer.
That would be a problem even if the farm system were overflowing with help. It isn’t.
Ethan Holliday, the No. 4 pick in the 2025 draft, was 14th in the midseason prospect rankings, and second baseman/outfielder Roldy Brito checked in at 32nd. Neither has reached Double A.
Former top-five pick Charlie Condon put together a strong season at Triple A, but he was not in the top 50. Tyler Bell, the club’s first-rounder this year, hit well at Kentucky but will need shoulder surgery before beginning his pro career.
MLB Pipeline currently has Colorado’s system 16th in baseball, up from No. 27 to start the season, but that still doesn’t look like the kind of talent base that should follow four straight 100-loss seasons.
There are some young pieces worth watching. TJ Rumfeld, Adael Amador and Cole Carrigg are all in their mid-20s and look like useful parts.
Chase Dollander, the former No. 9 overall pick, was having a good season before blowing out his elbow. Hunter Goodman stands out as a real success story.
But one All-Star and a few supporting players do not make a core, and they certainly do not erase years of bottom-of-the-league baseball.
The draft record is part of the indictment, too. Colorado has had a top-10 pick in each of the last seven drafts and still hasn’t landed a true star. That is a stunning miss for a franchise that has spent so much time at the bottom.
The Rockies did try to make a statement after three straight losing seasons, handing Kris Bryant a seven-year, $182 million deal in March 2022 to be the new face of the franchise. It came after the team traded Nolan Arenado to the Cardinals and just before Trevor Story left for the Red Sox. The sequence made little sense then, and it looks even worse now.
Bryant has played in only 170 games over five years with Colorado. He has hit .244/.324/.370 with 17 home runs, 61 RBIs and -1.6 bWAR.
Back problems have kept him off the field for much of his time with the club, and his future remains uncertain. He is owed $26 million in 2027 and ’28, and his contract now makes up roughly 23% of Colorado’s payroll.
It has become one of the worst deals in the sport and a clear symbol of how badly things have gone.
The 119-loss season finally forced change, and the Rockies brought in Paul DePodesta as president of baseball operations. One of baseball’s early analytics voices, DePodesta has worked with the A’s, Dodgers, Padres, Mets and Cleveland Browns. His arrival marks a major shift for a franchise that has not operated this way before.
There is at least one reminder that a stretch like this does not have to last forever. Four seasons after the Mets finished their own historic run of losing, they won the World Series. That is the hope Colorado is chasing now.
For the moment, though, Rockies fans are left with the same old question, and this time it feels earned: “Can’t anybody here play this game?”
In Other News...
Zac Veen Just Made The Rockies Ask A Much Bigger Question
Zac Veens season has quickly gone from promising to impossible to ignore. The Rockies top prospect earned Colorado Rockies Minor League Player of the Year honors from Baseball America after tearing through Triple-A Albuquerque, where his bat showed the kind of impact that has long made him one of the organizations most watched young players. When he got back to the majors in August, he made an immediate statement by homering in his first game back, a reminder of why the upside has always been so intriguing.
What makes the conversation bigger now is that Veens major league line has still been uneven, even with the flashes. He is hitting .226 with two home runs and 12 RBIs in 62 at-bats this season, which leaves the Rockies with a familiar offseason question: how much weight should they put on the production they saw in Denver and Albuquerque versus the total body of work he has put together so far? His next step feels less about proving he can hit in bursts and more about whether the organization is ready to keep giving him the runway to turn those bursts into something lasting. [Read more 🡒]
Rockies Top Prospect Is Forcing A Bigger Roster Question
When the Rockies settled on TJ Rumfield as their starting first baseman heading into the 2026 season, it made sense on paper. His experience and offensive production gave Colorado a more established option at a position where the club wanted stability, while Charlie Condon spent the year in Triple-A Albuquerque working on a different path to the majors. Condons bat still traveled with him, though, and the organization spent the season getting a longer look at how he fit elsewhere on the field.
Much of that look came in right field, where Condon played the bulk of his games and continued to show why his rise has become one of the more interesting storylines in the system. The expectation is that he will reach the majors as an outfielder in 2027, which is where the roster conversation gets more complicated for Colorado. If Condons future really is in the outfield, the Rockies are not just monitoring a top prospect anymore, they are staring at a bigger decision about where his bat belongs when he finally arrives. [Read more 🡒]
Rockies Suddenly Have A Real Say In The NL Playoff Race
The Phillies took another step in the wild card race with a win over the Brewers, helped by Zack Wheelers 5.2 innings of work and 10 strikeouts, and by a bullpen that mostly held up even with a run allowed by Jhoan Duran. With the standings tightening late in the season, Philadelphia now sits in a position where every result around the league starts to matter just as much as what it does on the field.
A victory in their next game would clinch a playoff berth for the Phillies if the Rockies can also get past the Diamondbacks, which gives Colorado a temporary place in the NL picture that few would have expected. Philadelphias magic number is down to two, and suddenly a team that has spent much of the year outside the spotlight could help shape when one of the leagues contenders locks up a postseason spot. [Read more 🡒]