DENVER -- Paul DePodesta thinks the Rockies have enough depth to create options this offseason, and second base and the outfield may be the places where that flexibility shows up first.
The Rockies president of baseball operations said the club could be active after this week’s General Managers Meetings in Las Vegas if the market starts moving.
“We’ll see. There are some other folks that seem like they're also prepared to move relatively quickly, but I guess we won't know until we're there, right?”
DePodesta said. “There is certainly a chance for some movement here in the next couple weeks.”
Colorado’s priority remains clear: upgrade the starting rotation. DePodesta said the club will look at that need through trades, established free agents and less obvious additions.
Even after a year in which DePodesta and GM Josh Byrnes took over and the roster improved, the Rockies still finished with the Majors’ worst record for the second straight season and topped 100 losses for the fourth straight year. But the front office believes the current roster has enough surplus in a few spots to help it chase help elsewhere.
The biggest source of that surplus appears to be the outfield.
Jake McCarthy locked down the leadoff role, Mickey Moniak signed a two-year, $16.25 million extension in August, and switch-hitting Cole Carrigg made his Major League debut in June before giving the club a jolt after moving into center field following Brenton Doyle’s trade to the White Sox at the Trade Deadline.
The group kept growing from there. No. 11 prospect Sterlin Thompson debuted in May, and Colorado also got a late look at 2020 first-round pick and 2026 Pacific Coast League Most Valuable Player Zac Veen. Jordan Beck began the season as a starter, but his struggles against right-handed pitching cut into his playing time, and he now enters arbitration for the first time.
There are more names on the way, too. Roldy Brito, the Rockies’ No. 2 prospect and No. 52 overall, was a Futures Game invitee.
Charlie Condon, the Rockies’ No. 3 prospect and No. 56 overall, spent the ‘26 season at Triple-A Albuquerque. Jared Thomas, the Rockies’ No. 10 prospect, is putting together a strong Arizona Fall League showing and is viewed as close to the big leagues as well.
“It’s clear that we have some real outfield depth,” DePodesta said. “We’ve got a legitimate seven or eight guys that we consider Major League outfielders -- like, at the beginning of the ‘27 season, not someday or within a couple of years. They’re ready to go now.
“Assuming health on all those guys, we don't have room for all of them on our Opening Day roster, and I think other teams certainly see that. It’s been a part of some conversations.
But we're also pretty happy to have that depth right now. We like every single one of them.”
Second base gives Colorado another possible path.
The Rockies expected to patch together the position during the season, but by September they had several useful pieces in hand. Willi Castro, in the first year of a two-year, $12.8 million deal, hit .260/.331/.417 with a career-high 15 home runs in 120 games before injuries to his left knee and right foot shut him down in September.
“People don't sort of fully understand just how valuable Castro was to our team -- we cannot overstate how important he was,” DePodesta said. “During the offseason and going into Spring Training, having him allowed us to have lots of possibilities and bring in different players and give them a chance to compete in Spring Training to make our team.
“Then we get into the season, and you know, if anything happens with our club, we can make it work with Willi. He had a very good year, just on the surface. Under the surface, he was just as valuable, if not even more valuable, to the team as a whole.”
Connor Norby, acquired in a trade, also gave the Rockies a lift. The right-handed hitter posted a .302/.387/.457 line, better than what he produced with the Orioles and Marlins after being selected by Baltimore in the second round of the 2021 Draft.
“It's hard for players to get traded, especially younger players, but he had already been through it once,” DePodesta said. “This was his second time, and he had a very different sort of approach to it this time: ‘I'm just going to go be myself and not try to do too much or not try to be something I'm not.’”
Adael Amador, a switch-hitting former top prospect, also re-entered the picture after being pushed into the Majors before he was ready in ‘24 and ‘25. He spent most of ‘26 at Triple-A and hit .277/.362/.482 in 27 big league games, while also getting some work at third base and in left field.
“He really played well for us at the big league level -- certainly better than what everyone had told me about prior years," DePodesta said. "In Triple-A, he also played some third base and left field and was very early in those experiments.”
Then there is Roc Riggio, the left-swinging No. 12 prospect the Rockies got from the Yankees at the 2025 Trade Deadline. He hit 22 combined home runs between Double-A and Triple-A and posted a .369 on-base percentage, his best over a full pro season.
" It’s patience and power,” DePodesta said. “He knows when to be aggressive, and when he’s aggressive, he does not get cheated. He is looking to do damage when he swings the bat.”
That depth gives Colorado choices. The Rockies can move one of their second-base options and use the return to spend elsewhere, or they can keep the group intact and see whether someone inside the organization takes another step.
The free-agent market at second base offers more possibilities, with Gleyber Torres, Jeff McNeil, Luis Arraez, Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Jonathan India among the names available.
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