The Colorado Rockies spent 2026 trying to pull themselves out of the ditch, and the front office now has a new set of money decisions waiting for it this offseason.
Under president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta and general manager Josh Byrnes, Colorado finished with 58 wins, a step up from the 43-game disaster of 2025. The record may not shout progress, but the organization has clearly spent the year trimming the roster, hunting for younger talent and trying to chart a cleaner path back to respectability. The next phase is less about scouting and more about contracts.
Two of the biggest calls involve pitchers who could shape the 2027 staff. Kyle Freeland is officially a free agent after his long-term arbitration deal expired, and the veteran left-hander’s future is suddenly open for debate.
The Denver native is 32 and just finished a 4-12 season with a 6.65 ERA. For the first time since 2019, his bWAR dipped below zero at -0.4.
He struck out 108 batters, walked 29 and made 26 starts. The Rockies now have to decide whether to keep him for the second half of his career.
Then there’s Jordan Romano, a midseason pickup who gave Colorado a veteran arm at the back end. The former Toronto Blue Jays All-Star closer went 0-2 with a 4.21 ERA and 11 saves in 27 outings for the Rockies.
In 25.2 innings, he struck out 27 and walked 13. At 33, he gives the club a possible ninth-inning option - but only if his market doesn’t climb too high.
Arbitration brings its own set of choices, and Colorado has six players in that process. Most of the time, that means keeping an eye on the dollars. This winter, though, two names go beyond simple cost control: catcher Hunter Goodman and outfielder Jake McCarthy.
Goodman is in his first year of arbitration, and the case for a long-term deal looks obvious. He hit 41 home runs, drove in 88 runs and batted .245 in 2026, earning his second straight All-Star nod while standing as the club’s best offensive player. Power like that doesn’t grow on trees, especially at catcher.
McCarthy’s situation is different, but just as important. He made $1.525 million in 2026 and put together a career year, slashing .334/.475/.809 with 15 homers and 83 RBI. His arbitration number is set to rise, and Colorado could try to buy out some of those future seasons with a multi-year contract, the same kind of approach it already used with Mickey Moniak.
For a small-market club, that kind of cost control matters even more with the possibility of a sale after a new collective bargaining agreement.
And then there’s the contract that hangs over everything else: Kris Bryant.
Bryant, the former World Series champion, hasn’t played since the start of the 2025 season because of a degenerative neck condition, yet the checks keep coming. He is owed $26 million in 2027 and remains under contract through 2029. A trade doesn’t look realistic, and Colorado is left with a few ways to handle a deal that has become the franchise’s biggest financial burden.
The Los Angeles Angels found a path with Anthony Rendon’s contract, restructuring the final year of a $38 million obligation into deferred payments over three to five years. A similar move with Bryant would at least create some breathing room for the Rockies.
But one way or another, the money stays on their books. That problem belongs to Colorado, and Colorado alone.
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