The Colorado Rockies may still be sitting at 45-68 and last in the standings, but the final stretch of 2026 still has some clear objectives worth chasing. The postseason isn’t part of the picture. Progress is.
One of the simplest goals on the board is overtaking the San Francisco Giants. Colorado trails San Francisco by three games, with the Giants at 48-66, and there’s no reason for the Rockies to let another season end with the last-place label attached to them. It won’t change the bigger standings picture, but it would at least give them something tangible to point to before winter arrives.
Another storyline worth watching is TJ Rumfield’s push for National League Rookie of the Year. That pursuit matters for the Rockies as much as it does for Rumfield himself, and manager Warren Schaeffer is expected to keep giving the 26-year-old first baseman chances to finish strong.
Rumfield has already put himself in the thick of the race, leading all NL rookies with a .294 batting average and a .464 slugging percentage. He’s also third in homers with 13 and third in RBI with 58.
If he turns in a big August and a strong September, the award could be his.
Then there’s the bigger-picture question involving Hunter Goodman. The catcher is under contract with Colorado through 2029, but he is due for salary arbitration after the season.
Right now, he is playing on a one-year, $810,000 pre-arbitration contract for 2026, and that means the Rockies need to start thinking ahead. Goodman’s role and stature make it clear he’ll be seeking a major raise, so the front office has to use the rest of this season to evaluate where he stands and decide what a long-term offer might look like.
With the organization trying to build something real, keeping Goodman around for the next 5-7 years would make plenty of sense. The Rockies have time, but not much of it.
In Other News...
Rockies Deadline Decisions Revealed Who Colorado Is Really Building Around
The Rockies used the trade deadline to make a few moves without blowing up the roster, a familiar kind of balancing act for a team still sorting out its long-term direction. One of the notable deals sent Antonio Senzatela to Milwaukee, bringing back prospects Mark Manfredi and Juan Martinez, while Colorado otherwise kept its focus on the younger players it has been trying to develop.
What stood out just as much as the deals the Rockies made was the talent they did not move. Hunter Goodman remained in place, and left-handed reliever Brennan Bernardino also stayed put, a sign that Colorado is still deciding which pieces fit into its next version of the roster. The deadline did not deliver a dramatic reset, but it did offer a clearer look at who the Rockies appear willing to build around. [Read more 🡒]
Jordan Romano May Be The Rockies Bullpen Answer Nobody Saw Coming
Jordan Romano has settled into the back end of the Rockies bullpen far faster than anyone could have expected when he signed a minor-league deal and worked his way back up from Triple-A. The former Blue Jays closer, who was designated for assignment and released by the Angels earlier this season after struggling, has looked far more like the version Colorado hoped it was getting, giving the club a steadier ninth-inning option than it has had for much of the year.
In nine games with the Rockies, Romano has posted a 3.12 ERA and collected five saves, numbers that matter for a team that has spent plenty of time searching for answers on the mound. What makes the turnaround more interesting is how quickly he has gone from roster casualty to late-game fix, leaving Colorado with a bullpen storyline worth watching as the season moves on. [Read more 🡒]