There were hugs all around from those Rockies who knew Weiss back in the day.

And jokes about his newfound internet fame.

“You don’t mess with Walt, as everybody has seen now,” Rockies longtime trainer Keith Dugger said with a laugh.

The thing is, the 62-year-old Weiss never expected to go viral. But there he was, sparking memes, inspiring T-shirts, “Come put on the pads, Skip.”

In case you missed it (how could you?), that broke out between the Braves and the Angels in Anaheim, Calif., on April 8.

As fists started to fly between Braves pitcher Reynaldo Lopez and Angels designated hitter Jorge Soler, Weiss sprinted from the dugout, flipped off his hat, and tackled the 6-foot-3, 235-pound Soler.

The 6-foot, 180-pound Weiss, who still lives in Parker during the offseason, is a soft-spoken gentleman. But just beneath the surface flows white-hot competitive intensity. Sporting biceps like Schwarzenegger’s, Weiss goes to the gym nearly every day. He’s a martial artist with a black belt in taekwondo and has training in MMA, including jiu-jitsu.

Soler was the 2021 World Series MVP for the Braves when Weiss was the bench coach. But that didn’t matter in the heat of the moment.

“I love Soler. We were teammates here,” that night. “But that����ap a big man, and so I just felt I’ve gotta get him off his feet because he’s gonna hurt somebody. And so that was my instinct, just to get in there and get Jorge off his feet, yeah, because he was on a warpath.”

Weiss is way past all of that now, but the moment inspired the Braves.

“We could not get enough of it,” said Braves reliever Tyler Kinley, who pitched for Colorado from 2020 through part of 2025 before he was traded to Atlanta. “Guys rally around different things throughout the year, and that, for us, was huge. Guys already knew that Walt was tough and a bad dude.

“I mean, everyone knows that Soler is a big dude, and he’s not a gentle giant. To see Walt zone in on Soler, find him, and then take him down and end the whole scrum was amazing. Guys were already ready to run through a brick wall for Walt.”

An evolution from player to skipper

Weiss’ baseball card is impressive. He played 14 years in the majors and was the American League rookie of the year in 1988 with the Oakland A’s, with whom he won three pennants and the 1989 World Series. He played shortstop for the Rockies from 1994-97. He was an All-Star with the Braves in 1998 at age 34.

After retiring as a player in 2000, Weiss served as a special assistant and instructor with the Rockies from 2002 to 2008. He managed the Rockies for four seasons (2013-16) and was Atlanta’s bench coach for eight years before replacing Brian Snitker as manager.

Former Rockies general manager Dan O’Dowd hired Weiss to replace Jim Tracy after the Rockies’ 98-loss season in 2012. The Rockies went 283-365 under Weiss, and while owner Dick Monfort wanted him to continue after the 2016 season, Weiss resigned because of his strained relationship with Jeff Bridich, the GM who replaced O’Dowd.

The Rockies improved to 75-87 under Weiss in 2016, and many of the building blocks were in place for the 2017-18 Rockies teams that made the playoffs under Bud Black, most notably an infield that included third baseman Nolan Arenado, shortstop Trevor Story, and second baseman DJ LeMahieu, as well as All-Star outfielders Charlie Blackmon and Carlos Gonzalez.

“The circumstances are worlds apart,” Weiss said Friday when asked what he learned managing the Rockies. “The first time I did this, back here, I had been out of the game for four years, which is an eternity in this league. I mean, I was coaching high school football (at Regis Jesuit) when I interviewed for that job.

“I had a lot to learn, had to learn on the fly. But I had a good staff around me that helped me through those early years.”

Weiss has evolved a lot since then.

“I saw the game probably more through a player’s eyes back then, because that’s what I leaned on,” he said. “In some ways, that’s good. In some ways, probably not so good.

“I was the bench coach (with the Braves) for eight years, so I know this team very well. The trust has been established. But this is a very different scenario. This is a team that’s built to win, right now. I’m certainly more comfortable in my own skin, in this role, right now.”

The Braves beat the Rockies 8-6 in comeback fashion on Friday night and entered Saturday’s game at Coors with a big-league-best 23-10 record and were 9-0-1 in series this season.

A hard-nosed ‘father figure’

Weiss steered his club through some early-season turbulence.

During spring training, the Braves lost right-hand Spencer Strider to an oblique strain. He’s scheduled to make his season debut on Sunday against the Rockies.  Starters Spencer Schwellenbach and Hurston Waldrep went down with elbow injuries and have yet to return.

Catcher Sean Murphy was sidelined with a hip labral tear, and shortstop Ha-Seong Kim tore his finger tendon. Both players are expected to return in the next few weeks. But outfielder Jurickson Profar was suspended for the second time for PEDs and is done for the season.

“Walt is very consistent with what he does, and he puts a good, positive outlook on everything for everybody,” said Atlanta utility infielder Kyle Farmer, who played for the Rockies last season. “He’s a very good communicator and checks in on guys all the time.

“For a bench guy like myself, he lets me know what’s going on. Our roster is loaded with talent, but for a guy like me who doesn’t play every day, he’s been very considerate and approachable.”

Utility player Mauricio Dubon, who hit a three-run triple in the eighth inning against Colorado on Friday, called Weiss a “father figure.”

“Walt’s ability to relate to guys and speak the players’ language is unique,” Kinley said. “He shows up every day and is diligent about what he does. He has an intention for everything he does. He understands it’s not an easy game, and he knows how to communicate with guys. He’s amazing at that.

“And Walt walks the walk. He’s in there, busting his butt with us in the weight room. He’s intense,  and guys feed off that.”

As a player, Weiss was hard-nosed, so he expects the same from those who play for him. He also expects them to be on time, work hard, and hustle — all of the time. Arenado found out about that when he played for Weiss.

In July 2014, Arenado was benched after jogging to first base on a groundout against the Pirates at Coors Field. Arenado had failed to hustle up the first-base line several times in the minors, and Weiss wasn’t about to accept that in the majors.

“You don’t know how a player is going to take that, especially someone as good as Nolan,” Weiss told The Denver Post in 2019. “It can go either way. Managers and catchers almost always show up to the ballpark earlier than the players, but the next day, there’s Nolan, waiting in my office. I really didn’t know how that was going to go. Was he mad because he thought I had embarrassed him?”

“But then Nolan actually thanked me for benching him. Imagine that? He was there early to tell me how much he appreciated me pulling him out of the game.”

When Arenado was feuding with Bridich near the end of his career in Colorado, one of the people he sought counsel from was Weiss, who has a sterling reputation throughout the game.

“One of the finest men I’ve ever known in baseball,” Dugger said. “One of my favorite people — ever.”

Vinny Castilla, a member of the famed Blake Street Bombers and a Rockies special assistant for the past 21 years, has known Weiss for 32 years. During Weiss’s first managerial stint, Castilla saw signs pointing to success if Weiss ever got another gig.

“He’s a players’ manager, and he’s going to do whatever he can to protect them,” Castilla said. “He’s a very nice man, and I love him, and I miss him. But he’s a black belt, so don’t mess with him.”

During the Rockies’ 9-6 victory over the Dodgers on Sunday afternoon at Coors Field, Hunter Goodman, Troy Johnston, Edouard Julien and Jake McCarthy all hit doubles, and they all pantomimed a fisherman casting his line and reeling in a catch.

Clearly, it was a clever celebratory response to the comments made by Dodgers backup catcher Dalton Rushing after the Dodgers’ 4-3 loss to Colorado on Saturday. Rushing made some veiled accusations, saying the Rockies made some “fishy” swing decisions.

On Monday, when asked about the Rockies’ act at second base, Johnston didn’t take the bait.

Rockies’ Antonio Senzatela embraces change and it’s paying off | Journal

"What was it all about? Fishing," McCarthy answered Monday as a big smile spread across his face. "We all like to fish, and we like the outdoors. This is Colorado."

So, it had nothing to do with Rushing comments?

"Well, I mean, that's open to interpretation," he said, flashing another big grin. "It's a team bonding thing. It's all in good fun."

Goodman, Colorado's All-Star catcher, as it turns out, is also a big fisherman in his home state of Tennessee.

"I enjoy bass fishing," Goodman said. "And Colorado is an outdoor state. And one of the best players to ever play here, Chuck, fishes all of the time. I'm sure he loves it."

Goodman was referring to Rockies icon Charlie Blackmon.

So, did Goodman's air casting have anything to do with Rushing's fishy comments?

"I mean, I'll leave that up to other people to decide," he said.

Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer added, "Sometimes guys just say things, that's all. I mean, we are the highest percentage 0-0 swing team in the league, and I think everybody knows that. It is what it is. (Rushing) is free to say whatever he wants."

And what was Schaeffer's response to his players' second base celebration?

"I don't know anything about that," he said.

They made up for historically bad pitching by not hitting. And they fielded like .

The only people who suffered more than the 2025 Rockies’ players?

The former ones.

When the world laughed at the Purple Patsies, they were cackling at anyone who ever played for the franchise.

When a team gets outscored by 424 runs, it becomes low hanging fruit for every reporter, broadcaster and blogger. The humiliation ran deep, reaching the doorsteps and text messages of ex-Rockies.

This might surprise you, given the franchise’s lack of success, but most of them pull for the team. They want to embrace the franchise and have grown weary of ownership and the front office operating in ways to demoralize it.

While Opening Day is a rebirth, the home opener provides a platform for the Rockies to show they are a legitimate major league team, not a take-your-kids-to-work-day experiment.

Hall of Famer Larry Walker, who will have a statue unveiled in his honor on Aug. 23 at Coors Field, remains cautiously optimistic.

“Well, there’s always hope. I am a fan of the Seattle Seahawks. I grew up a three-hour drive from there (in Vancouver). They will always be the team I root for. And they struggled for years. Now, they have won two Super Bowls, and it should be three if they handed the ball off (to Marshawn Lynch),” Walker told The Post.

“I am a fan of the Vancouver Canucks. And I am 59, and they haven’t won one (title). If it was easy, every city would do it. Not everyone goes out and buys one like the Dodgers or the 1997 Marlins. Sometimes you have to rebuild. That’s where the Rockies are. They are starting from scratch. I tip my cap for them trying something different. It’s not a team of All-Stars, but a team of very determined players trying to get this thing back on track.”

When tickets are available in almost every section for the home opener, as they were on Thursday afternoon, it is a clear reminder of how much momentum the Rockies have lost.

They once sold out 203 consecutive games at Coors Field. They reached a World Series in 2007, and earned their only back-to-back postseason berths in 2017 and 2018.

But even with the heart-hands, Instagram views of the skyline, five playoff appearances in 34 seasons tend to turn people off in a city where the Broncos, Avs, and Nuggets regularly compete for championships.

Those teams rebuilt through the draft over the last decade. The Rockies are trying to follow suit.

“I think they obviously needed a fresh start. Whatever was going on wasn’t working. It was a really tough watch,” said longtime Rockies pitcher Jason Jennings, who won Rookie of the Year honors in 2002. “A fresh set of eyes, a fresh perspective, it is a welcome change. Hopefully, this is the beginning of a turnaround.”

That could take years. But it is fair to ask them to be competitive. The Rockies went 4-11 at home last April, triggering an epic freefall.

The recent 2-4 road trip, including four one-run games and winning two of three against the reigning American League champion Toronto Blue Jays, offered a hint that this season might be less odorous. The Rockies did not win a series last year until June.

Aaron Cook, a former All-Star Rockies pitcher, predicted as much at spring training.

“It is a totally different vibe,” Cook said. “There is so much positive energy. It’s night and day from last year.”

One game is not a referendum on the season. But the home opener has long served as a window into the franchise, of whether the team was worth disposable income beyond a few cheap date nights on The Party Deck.

“I have spent a little time with (new general manager) Josh (Byrnes). I have had conversations with (president of baseball operations) Paul (DePodesta). I am optimistic. They are smart baseball people,” said Matt Holliday, a three-time All-Star with the Rockies. “After what happened the last few years, I am excited to see what they do and if the changes they’ve made will work out.”

The previous seven years were a blend of arrogance and incompetence. President Walker Monfort, in charge of reshaping the Rockies’ business model, has acknowledged the importance of regaining trust.

They owe fans better.

“Sometimes chemistry is as simple as a three-letter word: win. It is so contagious and it makes it so much more exciting knowing you have a shot every game. And when you are in a rut, you have that opposite feeling of (crap) we have no chance tonight,” Walker explained. “That is hard as a player, never mind the fan spending money. I desperately hope things change for the Rockies and especially those fans. They deserve it.”

Make no mistake, the words of the past stars have value. They have lived baseball at altitude, and succeeded where so many have flopped. The organization must listen and look for ways to bring more ex-players into the fold as consultants or through formal alumni events.

Blend novel ideas with institutional knowledge. Some of this was done with Charlie Blackmon regarding hitting philosophies in the offseason. The team should remain mindful of how others can help.

Monfort exited the echo chamber by hiring DePodesta and Byrnes, and freed them to bring in a battery of outsiders.

Many of the positive steps will take months, even years, before seeing the sunlight. They are fixes to the infrastructure, teaching methods, talent identification. DePodesta and Byrnes give the Rockies a credible chance to become a draft and development organization in action, not hollow words.

New is good when the old was so bad. The former players understand this process will take time.

The Rockies need to honor them by showing progress and ending the embarrassment.

“You don’t look down on those guys last year. It����ap a game of failure. They are out there battling and doing their best. You feel for them,” Jennings said. “It can’t get much worse than that. The Rockies are a big part of my past and family history. I love the stadium. I love the city. The energy. The crisp air. When that place is sold out, like it should be Friday, there is nothing like it. I want them to succeed.”

Dressed in Rockies purple, with a birthday tiara perched atop her baseball cap, and a lavender lei around her neck, she’s talking to outfielder Charlie Blackmon during a Cactus League game at Salt River Fields in Scottsdale, Ariz.

The 6-foot-3 Blackmon is crouching down to greet Mabel, who stood about 4-foot-7. Blackmon was one of Mabel’s favorite players. Mabel was one of Blackmon’s favorite fans.

“Mabel is a true one of one,” Blackmon told me. “She was a star that shone bright. It was uncanny how she could make you feel better about yourself. The world needs more people like Mabel Miyasaki.”

Mabel would have been 101 this coming Friday, but she died on Feb. 5. When she passed, the Rockies lost one of their greatest, funniest, kookiest, and ferocious fans. Donning purple nail polish and Rockies earrings, she attended nearly every home opener, dating back to the first one at Mile High Stadium in 1993.

“It’s tough, she left a hole that will never be filled,” said her daughter, Meri Miyasaki. “We’ll miss her a lot.”

I’ll miss her, too. When I got started in this sportswriting business at the Longmont Times-Call too many years ago to count, Mabel was a fixture at Niwot High School baseball games, where she handed out candy and gum. She worked in the Niwot High lunchroom for years and was the Cougars’ super-booster.

As her obituary noted, “Mabel became known as the “Bubble Gum Lady.” She strongly encouraged (i.e. shamed) people to place donations in her green coffee can for the Niwot Booster Club.”

Mabel used to invite me — and former Rockies infielder Clint Barmes, too — to her home for her version of chicken teriyaki and rice.

Mabel was born to Tasanji and Yoshi Shibao on March 6, 1925, in Brighton, where she grew up working the family farm. A self-described tomboy who was surrounded by five brothers, she fell in love with baseball at an early age. She once told me that she escaped boring kitchen duties — “girly stuff” is how she put it — by going outside to throw and hit baseballs.

Her favorite Rockies included Hall of Famers Larry Walker and Todd Helton, Vinny Castilla, Tony Wolters, trainer Keith Dugger, as well as Blackmon and Barmes.

Walker called her “Sushi Mom.” Former manager Clint Hurdle gave Mabel a framed, signed photo inscribed: “Grandma, thank you for your love.” She got to throw out a first pitch to Barmes during a Cactus League game in 2010.

Mabel also shared a special friendship with the late Keli McGregor, the former team president who died unexpectedly in 2010. In the main corridor of the Rockies complex at Salt River Fields, a large photo is displayed showing Mabel reaching her tiny hand through the netting behind home plate to shake the 6-6 McGregor’s giant paw.

“They had a very special bond,” Meri said.

Mabel’s tradition of celebrating her birthday with a dinner during spring training dates back to the early days of the franchise when the Rockies’ camp was at Hi Corbett Field in Tucson, Ariz. She and her family, and often a Rockies player or two, would gather at Sakura, a teppanyaki restaurant in the heart of Tucson.

One year, reliever Manny Corpas joined the celebration.

“He got me drunk,” she told me, wrinkling her nose. “I got really silly.”

Hearing that, Meri rolled her eyes and chimed in: “Mom, it doesn’t take much. You had two glasses of wine!”

Thomas Harding, my best buddy from MLB.com, often joined Mabel’s family for those birthday dinners.

“They would get in so much trouble together,” Meri recalled with a laugh. “They would get out of control.”

Mabel seemed to know everybody, probably because she would talk to anybody. For more than 20 years, she worked at a McDonald’s in Longmont. When she retired in 2014, she was one of the oldest McDonald’s employees in the country.

“My mom was one of a kind,” Meri said. “And she was one of the hardest-working people I’ve ever known. She wasn’t afraid of hard, physical labor.

“But stubborn? Oh my! She had a stubborn streak you wouldn’t believe. But the thing that I loved most about her was that she loved to have fun. She was always the life of the party. Even when things were tough late in her life, she had that mischievous grin. She would always laugh.”

Mabel’s last spring training was in 2020, right before the pandemic shut everything down. But she continued to attend Rockies home openers at Coors Field, all the way up to last year when she was 100.

She won’t be there in person this year. She will be there in spirit.

Kris Bryant is not expected to play for the Rockies again. Ever. His aching back won’t not allow it. Nor should the Rockies.

Tuesday, the organization took a step in that direction, placing Bryant on the 60-day disabled list. The strict interpretation means Bryant will miss the first 57 games. Common sense screams that he will miss all of them.

There will be lawyers. But, he is all but done in Colorado.

There should be empathy for his injury, but no sympathy for his lack of production. The Rockies owe Bryant $81 million over the next three seasons. All that is left is to restructure the contract with scheduled payments, buy him out or file a workman’s comp claim.

Regardless, it is time to put Bryant in the rearview after following protocol.

“He’s not ready. He is going to come in and take a physical, and we will get our eyes on him. But talking to his people (The Boras Corporation), his back is not responding,” Rockies general manager Josh Byrnes told The Post. “The 60-day was an easy decision because he’s not ready to play.”

So is his career over with the Rockies?

“It’s really a question at this point,” Byrnes said. “It is ongoing.”

The realization that it is not working, even if it was as simple as following Bryant’s symptoms, is welcomed. At last year’s fan fest 11 months ago, Rockies general manager Bill Schmidt insisted Bryant would contribute. I bit my tongue, resisting the temptation to quip, “As a player?”

Bryant was better cast as Dinger than to hit dingers.

His back has betrayed him. It flares up when he runs, making the 2025 plan to use him in the outfield on the road laughable. And the rotational torque from swinging a bat left him powerless, his cuts a success if they did not produce winces of pain.

Officially he is not gone. But the Rockies are finally, mercifully moving on.

They don’t deserve credit. And they won’t get it from frustrated fans. But they are taking steps in the right direction.

(Pause for eye rolls).

Yes, the Rockies stink like a baby’s diaper. Three straight 100-loss seasons. I get it. They are, however, under new management. President Paul DePodesta and Byrnes have established a vision for success, adding multiple major league players and implementing philosophical changes in the minors.

None of this will be obvious in the standings. But, they are using cellphones, have access to the internet and are embracing technology.

They are not saving baseball on 20th and Blake this season. Or next. Or even in 2028. But when the pitchers and catchers reported to Scottsdale this week, the Rockies sent a clear message:

They don’t see the Dodgers as the Death Star. They see them as the North Star.

What rebuilding looks like for the Rockies, even if they are starting out with Legos, is following the Dodgers blueprint, not their checkbook.

Baseball owners, with Dick Monfort playing a prominent role as a hawk in labor negotiations, are expected to lock out the players after this season, seeking a salary cap, believing that is the only reason the Dodgers win.

Hate to break it to you. It is not.

The Dodgers have aced the developmental piece. Players love getting drafted by them, knowing they will have a plan that gives them the best chance to succeed and reach The Show.

Don’t believe it?

More than a dozen players from their Class-A Great Lake Loons 2022 team have appeared in the big leagues. It is a mixture of arms and bats — Gavin Stone, Emmet Sheehan, Johny DeLuca. It’s a battery of players capable of making an impact, providing depth and creating flexibility in trade talks.

From 2014 to this fall, Byrnes was there for all of it as the senior vice president of baseball operations.

Long before the Dodgers began issuing $100 million contracts, they had their minor league pitchers using data and technology and players playing multiple positions to increase their versatility.

The Rockies are applying these principles. They signed three veteran pitchers who are embracing the concepts — Michael Lorenzen, Tomoyuki Sugano and Jose Quintana —and added super utility player Wil Castro and outfielder Jake McCarthy.

These moves fill holes and buy time for prospects, forcing them to meet certain thresholds before advancing through the minors.

On any given night last season, half of the Rockies’ roster belonged in Triple-A. Or worse.

“We want as much depth as we can create and to stabilize the rotation, which helps everything,” Byrnes said. “We have used the term ‘’Raise the floor’ a lot. That comes from competition.”

The pitching piece remains the Rubik’s Cube at Coors Field. The days of emphasizing sinkers and sliders and leaning too heavily on fastballs — see Dollander, Chase — are over. The Rockies want pitches of all shapes and sizes.

“I think a deep arsenal is that much more important for us. It is hard on hitters because they have to account for it,” Byrnes said. “That should translate at altitude.”

The hitting is going to take time to fix. Reducing the chase rate and strikeout percentage remains a top priority. No place awards contact more than Coors Field. That is often lost in the myth of baseball in Denver.

“The park affects pitch characteristics. It adds to singles, doubles, triples and home runs. The home runs are the least inflated,” Byrnes said. “There are ways we have to make this to our advantage. I have talked to a lot of people, most notably (former Rockies star outfielder) Charlie Blackmon, about how they feel here, how they perceive pitches.”

There is no guarantee it will work. However, the benefits of alignment in player development are proven.

It is up to Byrnes and crew to help Charlie Condon, Ethan Holliday and Brody Brecht reach their potential, along with the top picks over the next few Julys, for that matter.

How did the Avs, Nuggets and Broncos regain traction? They drafted and developed well. The Rockies must follow suit.

“We are not in a state of denial,” Byrnes said.

Not with the challenge. Not with the haters. And definitely not with Bryant.

On Thursday, Goodman won the Louisville Slugger Silver Slugger Award for a catcher in the National League. The 26-year-old became the first Rockies catcher to win the award.

In 144 games, Colorado’s lone All-Star slashed .278/.323/.520 with 31 homers, 28 doubles, five triples and 91 RBIs. Goodman was the first NL catcher to hit 30 home runs in a season since the Braves’ Javy Lopez hit 43 in 2003. He was also the first Rockies player to hit at least 30 home runs since Charlie Blackmon (32), Trevor Story (35), and Nolan Arenado (41) in 2019.

Goodman’s home runs, 150 hits, 64 extra-base hits and 91 RBIs are all the most by a Rockies primary catcher in a single season in franchise history.

He is one of six catchers to hit at least 30 home runs and drive in at least 90 runs in their age-25 season or younger. Goodman joined Rudy York (1937-38), Joe Torre (1966), Johnny Bench (1970, ’72), Mike Piazza (1993) and Gary Sanchez (2017).

The Silver Slugger is the top offensive award in Major League Baseball, presented to the season’s best hitters at each position as selected by a vote of MLB coaches and managers in their respective leagues.

Thairo Estrada becomes free agent

The Rockies enter the offseason searching for a solution at second base.

After declining the 2026 option for veteran second baseman Thairo Estrada on Monday, Colorado outrighted him off the 40-man major league roster on Thursday, and Estrada opted for free agency. Estrada was limited to 39 games in 2025 because of injuries. He broke his right wrist in spring training, then suffered a sprained left thumb and a strained right hamstring during the regular season. Estrada hit .253 with three home runs and 21 RBIs.

Also on Thursday, Colorado claimed right-handed reliever Garrett Acton off waivers from Tampa Bay.  Acton, 27, made his big-league debut in 2023, playing six games with the A’s and posting a 12.71 ERA. Last year at Triple-A Durham, Acton went 5-1 with a 3.68 ERA in 45 games, including four starts. He pitched one scoreless inning for the Rays.

In four minor league seasons, Acton is 16-12 with a 4.39 ERA in 151 games (six starts), and he has 283 strikeouts vs. 85 walks.

The Rockies currently have 39 players on their 40-man roster.

This autumn, there are no on-field heroics, no sold-out crowds at Coors Field, no playoff drama. Those memorable moments are in the distant past.

But the Rockies have reached a critical crossroads, forced to make the most significant choices since the team was first assembled as an expansion franchise before the inaugural 1993 season. Walker Monfort, the executive vice president, has been tasked with rebuilding the front office after three consecutive 100-loss seasons, which culminated in an embarrassing 119-loss season in 2025.

And the route he takes will likely determine if this will indeed be a new era, or just a rebrand of the same old Rockies.

“This is one of the most crucial decisions the Rockies will ever have to make,” said Ryan Spilborghs, the former Rockies outfielder, member of the 2007 World Series team, and Rockies TV analyst since 2014.

“They have been put in a position where it feels like they need to rearrange their grandparents’ furniture and remodel the house,” Spilborghs continued. “If you have ever had to do that, you know it’s not easy. It’s not easy to get people to change when they are set in their ways.

“So, to find their next person to head baseball operations, in a short period of time, and allow them to change their world — flip it upside down — requires an incredible amount of trust. It’s like speed dating to get married for life. The decision-making here is monumental.”

General manager Bill Schmidt and assistant GM Zack Rosenthal resigned earlier this month, leaving the Rockies on the clock. And it’s ticking, with the offseason just a few weeks away. Free agency begins the day after the World Series ends. The general managers’ meetings take place on Nov. 10-13 in Las Vegas.

There are currently five teams looking for a new on-field manager, six if you count the Rockies, who have not told interim manager Warren Schaeffer if he’ll have a chance to return. Scheffer, who has not been interviewed, said he expects to know about his future when the new front office boss is hired.

This coming week, Monfort, the oldest son of team owner and CEO Dick Monfort, is expected to narrow his list of finalists for a new head of baseball operations. He’s also creating a new position — a chief revenue and strategy officer — that will be tasked with helping grow the Rockies from the business side to invest more money in data, analytics and strategy. Those are areas where the Rockies have long lagged behind the rest of Major League Baseball.

Looming questions include whether the new head of baseball operations will have genuine autonomy to reshape the team, and if Dick Monfort will step aside to take a lesser role in constructing and operating the team.

“If there ever were a time he would, it would be now,” said a former major league executive, who spoke to The Denver Post under the condition of anonymity because he still works for MLB. “But will he invest in the right people and infrastructure to go along with the autonomy? That’s probably the bigger question.”

According to a , Colorado has interviewed at least three candidates to head a revamped front office: Toronto Blue Jays executive and former Houston Astros general manager James Click, Kansas City Royals assistant GM Scott Sharp, and Cleveland Guardians assistant GM Matt Forman. It’s not known what other candidates the Rockies might have interviewed.

Spilborghs, who hosts a national radio show for SiriusXM’s MLB Network Radio and has also worked as an analyst for Apple TV’s Friday night baseball coverage since 2023, is well-connected throughout baseball. He said he has not learned of any other candidates.

“Walker and the Rockies have done a good job keeping this search quiet, keeping things close to the vest,” Spilborghs said.

Thad Levine, who has ties to the Rockies, has been speculated as a possible candidate, but he’s not known to have interviewed with them. Still, he remains the No. 1 choice for Matt Holliday, the former Rockies All-Star outfielder. Holliday has a vested interest in the Rockies’ future success because his son Ethan was drafted by them with the fourth overall pick of the MLB draft in July.

“I love Thad Levine, but I don’t know if he’ll get an interview,” Holliday said. “But I don’t know why he wouldn’t.”

Levine worked under former Rockies GM Dan O’Dowd from 1999 to 2005 before becoming the assistant GM of the Rangers and later the GM and senior vice president of the Twins. He left the Twins after the 2024 season. During his eight years in Minnesota, the Twins won three AL Central titles and earned four postseason berths.

Holliday said that whoever the Rockies pick, the team needs a dynamic new voice.

“I’m hoping that they hire somebody who has a vision of what it’s going to take to turn this around,” Holliday said. “I’m hoping they hire a person with a plan to improve player development. I want them to bring on coordinators within the (farm) system that can really coach and develop.

“First and foremost, I’m hopeful for a head of baseball ops that is given the reins to set up a system like some of the other mid-market organizations, which seem to be functioning at a high level.”

Holliday is referring to organizations such as the Brewers and Guardians, which have been perennial playoff teams in recent years despite ranking in the bottom half of the MLB in terms of payroll.

Near the end of the season, Schaeffer was asked to provide an example of a step the Rockies need to take to catch up to other teams.

“We need information that the players are provided with in terms of how to get better and prosper at this level,” he said. “We can do better.”

Holliday concurred: “If you are not going to be out in the free-agent market signing big-time players, you have to come up with a holistic approach to getting better. Whether it’s R&D or analytics, whatever other organizations are doing, Colorado seems to have been left behind. That’s what I hear when I talk to other people about how Colorado compares to other organizations. I’m hoping the funding, the freedom given to whoever is next, and the ability to set up a great staff will take this organization back to where we all want it to be.”

Given the Rockies’ track record — seven consecutive losing seasons and just five playoff appearances in 33 years — and the challenges and vagaries of playing baseball at a mile above sea level, the job of rebuilding the franchise might seem undesirable for many. Spilborghs, however, believes that leading the offices at 20th and Blake is a highly coveted job.

“I have talked to virtually every organization for the past couple of years,” Spilborghs said. “A lot of executives have asked me about the Rockies. They ask me what’s going on. Then I ask them, in turn, what they think of the situation. I cannot tell you how many of them have told me, ‘That’s my dream job.’ ”

Why would that be the case?

“Because of the location, the fan base, and being able to build from scratch,” Spilborghs continued. “Though their eyes, from their vantage point, having the chance to revamp, reempower, and reengage, it just seems so enticing.

“If you are any sort of person who likes to run toward the fire instead of running away from it, this is exactly where they want to go.”

Spilborghs added that he hopes the Rockies are taking enough time and have scouted enough candidates for the job.

“There should be a line of candidates out the door who want to present and want to show you what they would do in Colorado,” he said. “I would assume that the list of executives is very robust, or at least it should be.

“But the thing is, there might be people that the Rockies might not be asking because they think they might not be willing to come to Colorado. Whereas, really, it’s quite the opposite. If you call them, they would come.”

Several rival managers have said that the Rockies, run the right way, could become a formidable team to contend with, especially at Coors Field.

“I have always admired the Rockies’ ability to develop position players,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said last spring. “Guys like Charlie Blackmon, (Trevor) Story, Nolan Arenado, D.J. (LeMahieu) and CarGo (Carlos Gonzalez). … They made Coors such a tough place to play.”

But the Rockies, fielding an anemic offense and failing to build a dynamic roster, have not posted a winning record at home since 2022.

“Coors has to be the home-field advantage that it can be and has been in the past,” Holliday said. “The Rockies should know the pros and cons, and what works and what doesn’t at Coors, better than anybody else. It should be the greatest homefield advantage in the sport.”

Ethan Holliday, just 18, likely won’t make his big-league debut for at least another two years. But his dad hopes that the critical decisions the Rockies make now will create a brighter future — one that will change the way the franchise is perceived around the league.

“I hope this is a chance to hit a home run on a hire that gets the organization turned about and heading in the other direction,” Matt Holliday said. “I’d like it to become an organization where other teams look at what the Rockies are doing and say, ‘Wow, they really flipped this thing on its head in a hurry, and now they are kind of a model organization.’ That would be my hope.”

He was interested in becoming the long-term GM. He didn’t believe the Rockies needed “rebuilding.” And he said Job No. 1 was to “Get everybody pulling on the rope in the same direction. Not only the players, but the whole organization.”

Then there’s this: “At the end of the day, I realize we need to win games.”

Schmidt was named the long-term GM on Oct. 2, 2021, but his vision of what the Rockies could become has never materialized.

Now, as the Rockies near the end of the worst season in franchise history and remain on track for one of the worst seasons in big-league history, it’s clear Schmidt’s tenure has been a failure. Colorado entered the weekend with a 40-107 record (on pace to lose 117 games), and the team had a 224-407 record on Schmidt’s watch, a .355 winning percentage that is by far the worst of any Colorado GM.

The Rockies have not publicly commented on Schmidt’s future, but it appears likely that he will be fired or reassigned at the end of the season.

When the club fired longtime manager Bud Black after the team opened the season with a 7-33 record, owner Dick Monfort issued a statement that read, “Our play this season, especially coming off the last two seasons, has been unacceptable. While we all share responsibility in how this season has played out, these changes are necessary. We will use the remainder of 2025 to improve where we can on the field and to evaluate all areas of our operation so we can properly turn the page into the next chapter of Rockies baseball.”

“Unacceptable” and “evaluate all areas of our operation” were key points in that statement, and they surely apply to Schmidt — not just Black and the players.

The following is an analysis of Schmidt’s tenure as GM:

Free-agent signings

Relative to many major league teams, the Rockies have been minor players in baseball’s free-agent game during Schmidt’s tenure. The exception was the spring 2022 signing of Kris Bryant to a seven-year, $182 million contract, the largest in franchise history.

Bryant has played in just 11 games this season and only 170 in his first four seasons with the franchise. He has been worth a minus-1.6 rWAR over that time and hit only 17 home runs. His chronic lower back condition — the team calls it “lumbar degenerative disc disease” — could mean that his career is over. Regardless, the Rockies still owe Bryant $27 million in 2026, ’27 and ’28.

Schmidt initially envisioned Bryant as the Rockies’ “aircraft carrier,” but national baseball pundits almost universally panned the signing immediately after it was reported. While it was Monfort who pushed for Bryant to come to Colorado, there’s no indication Schmidt pushed back on the deal, either.

Schmidt’s other “major” free-agent signings:

• Outfielder Juricson Profar, 2023, one year, $7.75 million.

• Right-handed reliever Alex Colome, 2022, one year, $4.1 million.

• Right-handed starter Jose Urena, 2023, re-signed, one year, $3.5 million.

• Utility player Kyle Farmer, 2025, one year, $3.25 million.

• Second baseman Thairo Estrada, 2025, one year, $3.25 million.

Whether it was because of injuries (Estrada) or poor play (Profar), none of those deals yielded a big return.

It should be noted that Monfort’s desire to sign Bryant to a mega-deal, coupled with his decision to reduce the club’s 40-man payroll from $171 million in 2023 to $122.3 million this season, hindered Schmidt’s efforts to build a better team.

The Rockies have rarely been active in free agency, even before Schmidt’s tenure, but the GM’s inability to mine the margins of the market for productive players didn’t help.

Contract extensions

Schmidt, who served as Colorado’s head of scouting since 2007 before his promotion, certainly believes in the players he drafted or acquired. During his tenure as GM, he extended the contracts of several players, most notably left-hander Kyle Freeland and third baseman Ryan McMahon in the spring of 2022, and shortstop Ezequiel Tovar during spring training 2024.

Tovar’s seven-year, $63.5 million extension appears to be a big win for the Rockies and is easily one of Schmidt’s best moves. The other extensions are more questionable.

Three days after signing Bryant, Colorado signed McMahon to a six-year, $70 million extension, revealing Schmidt’s blueprint.

“We don’t have all we need yet, but we have quality pieces,” Schmidt said at the time. “Let����ap tie them up and move forward.”

A month later, the Rockies signed Freeland to a five-year, $64.5 million extension. The 32-year-old remains with the team as a steady, veteran presence in Colorado’s historically bad rotation. McMahon was traded to the Yankees in July for prospects. Though he was Colorado’s lone All-Star in 2024, his high strikeout rate and streaky hitting prevented him from ever becoming the player the Rockies envisioned.

The Freeland and McMahon signings ended Schmidt’s most active stretch as a GM. In the fall of 2021, after the Rockies lost star shortstop Trevor Story and right-handed starter Jon Gray to free agency, Colorado brokered long-term deals with right-hander Antonio Senzatela (five years, $55 million) and catcher Elias Diaz (three years, $14 million), and also re-signed first baseman C.J. Cron for two years ($14.5 million).

Dias and Cron were both All-Stars, but the Senzatela extension has aged poorly. A knee injury at the end of the 2022 season and Tommy John surgery in July 2023 cost him dearly, and he’s been bad since his return. This season, the 30-year-old was 4-15 with a 7.15 ERA in 24 games (23 starts), and batters were hitting .356 against him when he was demoted to the bullpen in August. Senzatela has one year remaining on his contract and is set to earn $12 million in 2026.

Reliever Daniel Bard’s contract extension also backfired on Schmidt. In late July 2022, just ahead of the trade deadline, Bard inked a two-year, $19 million contract to stay with the team through 2024. He was a solid closer at the time, and teams were interested in acquiring Bard. But he was also 37 with a history of the yips.

Bard’s control issues resurfaced in 2023 when he posted a 4.56 ERA across 49 1/3 innings while walking more than 21% of opposing hitters. Injuries wiped out the second season of the deal.

Trade or no trade

Schmidt’s first summer as GM included two major decisions. The Rockies did not trade Story or Gray, both impending free agents. Instead, the Rockies offered Story an $18.4 million qualifying offer, which he declined. As compensation, when Story signed a six-year, $140 million deal with the Red Sox, the Rockies received the 31st overall pick in the 2022 draft and selected Florida outfielder Sterlin Thompson, now the club’s 16th-ranked prospect.

The Rockies were hopeful they could retain Gray. During the final week of the 2021 season, they approached him with an offer thought to be three or four years in the range of $35 million to $40 million. He turned it down, entered free agency, and the Rockies got nothing when he walked.

Such inaction at the trade deadline has been a hallmark of the organization. While that’s also been true during Schmidt’s tenure, he has strengthened the big-league roster and farm system by making some solid moves over the last two years.

On the current roster, right fielder Tyler Freeman, closer Victor Vodnik and right-handed starter Tanner Gordon were all acquired via trades. Players on the 40-man roster acquired via trade are right-handers Bradley Blalock, Luis Peralta and Jeff Criswell.

At this summer’s traded deadline, the Rockies made multiple trades for their future, shipping McMahon to the Yankees for two prospects; trading reliever Jake Bird to the Yankees for two more prospects, and dealing veteran right-handed reliever Tyler Kinley to Atlanta in exchange for minor league right-hander Austin Smith.

It remains to be seen if any of those trades will pan out

Draft and develop

Before Schmidt became GM, he had been the point man for many drafts as the head of the scouting department since 1999.

During his tenure, several notable players were drafted, including Troy Tulowitzki, Jeff Francis, Brad Hawpe, Garrett Atkins, Nolan Arenado, Charlie Blackmon, Freeland, Gray, Story and McMahon.

But there’s been a landslide of early-round disappointments in recent years, including second baseman Brendon Rodgers (third overall, 2015), right-hander Riley Pint (fourth, 2016), infielder Ryan Vilade (48th, 2017), lefty Ryan Rolison (22nd, 2018), and first baseman Michael Toglia (23rd, 2019). The jury is still out on outfielders Zac Veen (ninth, 2020) and Benny Montgomery (eighth, 2021).

Catcher Hunter Goodman (109th, 2021) and center fielder Brenton Doyle (129th, 2019) were picked later in the draft but have emerged as pillars of Colorado’s future.

Still, over the past nine years, the Rockies have had five top-10 picks and nine others in the top 42, and those 14 picks have combined for -1.7 bWAR.

Former GM Jeff Bridich had the final say on several of those picks, but Schmidt had the final word starting with the 2022 draft. Early results are solid. His selections include right-hander Gabriel Hughes (10th, 2022) and first baseman Charlie Condon (third, 2024), both of whom could debut next season.

Already on the big-league roster are right-hander Chase Dollander (ninth, 2023), infielder Ryan Ritters (116th, 2022) and Kyle Karros (145th, 2023), and outfielder Jordan Beck (38th, 2022).

Change on the horizon?

When Schmidt replaced Bridich in early May 2021, he provided stability to a dysfunctional front office. There was, however, an expectation that the Rockies would conduct a search outside the offices at 20th and Black for a permanent GM.

That didn’t happen. After a 10-18 start under Bridich, the Rockies went 64-69 after Schmidt took over. That was good enough to convince Monfort and then-team president Greg Feasel to keep Schmidt in place.

“It was what he did over the four months, and then it just kept building, and I mean, really, he didn’t give us a choice,” Feasel said at the time. “I mean, the intent was that we were going to go outside.

“But, I mean, how many times do you need to be hit over the head with a bat? And he was the right guy for us at the right time.”

Three 100-loss seasons later, the Rockies have hit a new low in their 33-year history. Will someone from the outside have the talent, vision and guts to tackle the challenge of a rebuild? Will Monfort and his son Walker, the team’s executive vice president, cede power to an outsider?

Some candidates with ties to Colorado might be considered. Thad Levine, who was in the Rockies’ front office from 1999 to 2005 before becoming assistant GM of the Texas Rangers and GM of the Minnesota Twins, would be a good fit. So would Seattle Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto, who pitched for the Rockies and served two stints in their front office, or perhaps Mariners assistant GM Andy McKay, who was Colorado’s minor league peak performance director from 2012-16 before joining Seattle as farm director.

Whatever happens, front-office changes in LoDo appear inevitable.

Rockies general managers, by record

The Rockies have only had four general managers in their 33-year history, and none of them posted a winning record during their tenure. The best of the bunch, as measured by winning percentage? The very first one, Bob Gebhard.

Doyle’s body maintenance, coupled with Schaeffer’s insistence that Doyle get time off, has the center fielder looking relatively fresh as the Rockies entered the final 17 games of their season.

“I feel good and I think I’m holding up pretty well,” the 27-year-old Doyle said.

His recent outfield play illustrated that. In the Rockies’ 7-2 loss to Los Angeles on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, Doyle caught 10 flyballs or line drives for outs, running full out on four of those catches.

He wasn’t nearly as busy last Saturday night in the Rockies’ 10-8 loss to the Padres at Coors Field, making just four putouts. But he made two golden plays in the fourth inning. He sprinted to the deepest part of the outfield in left-center field to rob Fernando Tatis Jr. of extra bases on a ball hit 419 feet. Two batters later, he ran to right-center to steal a hit from Manny Machado on a ball that traveled 398 feet.

When Schaeffer took over for Bud Black after the latter was fired on May 11, one of Schaeffer’s primary goals was to get players off their feet, so they wouldn’t be running out of gas or playing with dead legs in September. Schaeffer was especially focused on getting Doyle time off because playing center at cavernous Coors Field takes a toll. You can ask former Rockies Charlie Blackmon and Carlos Gonzalez about that.

“What Brenton has done has been extremely impressive,” Schaeffer said. “Everybody knows how hard it is. Center field, in Coors Field, is a different animal. It takes a special player to be able to do it. That’s what he is. He’s a presence out there.

“That being said, you have to take care of him. The last homestand, I gave him a day off before the homestand and a day off after the homestand, and let him play center field in every game of the homestand.”

Doyle’s playing time has been whittled a bit this season. Last year, he started 142 games in center field and was a designated hitter three times. This season, he’d started 111 games in center entering Wednesday night against the Dodgers, and had been a DH four times. Part of the reason for his reduced playing time was a quad injury and time on the bereavement list in April, as well as his early struggles against right-handed pitching.

But much of Doyle’s downtime has been planned, and he’s thankful for that. He’s also learned how to take care of his body.

“I have really put a focus on maintenance of my body, getting in the cold tub after the game, working with the trainers,” he said. “It’s part of being a professional.”

Early in the season, Doyle talked about how much he loves playing center, never mind the wide-open spaces at Coors.

“Center field has become my home,” he said. “It����ap my primary position … I want to play it as long as possible.”

Blackmon, who set the Rockies’ standard for staying in shape, started 668 games in center before he was moved to right field in 2019. Doyle, completing his third season in the majors, has started 348.

Doyle struggled at the plate for much of the season’s first half, but he’s turned his offense around. He was slashing .324/.353/.511 in 53 games since July 1, entering Wednesday night. His defense, despite a few shaky moments early in the season, has been mostly excellent.

“Regardless of how I’m going offensively, I’m always going to play super hard out there on defense,” Doyle said.

Nope. Turn out the lights.

The Rockies were dominated by the Dodgers in Los Angeles again on Tuesday night, losing 7-2. L.A. blasted four home runs, two by Teoscar Hernandez.

The Rockies (40-105) have lost 11 of 13 games and 15 of their last 18. They trail the Dodgers by an astronomical 41 games in the National League West.

All-Star catcher Hunter Goodman did provide a feel-good moment for Colorado in the ninth. After striking out in his first three at-bats, Goodman ripped a liner into the left-field seats for his 30th home run. He became the first Rockies hitter with 30 homers in a season since 2019 when the trio of Nolan Arenado (41), Trevor Story (35), and Charlie Blackmon (32) pulled it off.

“Obviously, the loss, you don’t want that to happen, but (30 homers) is a pretty good accomplishment,” Goodman told Rockies.TV. “Since the start of pro ball, that’s been one of my goals every year, and to get to it in the big leagues for the first time is pretty cool.”

Interim manager Warren Schaeffer was thrilled for Goodman but clearly discouraged by Colorado’s latest loss.

“That was big for Hunter, I’m happy for him,” Schaeffer told reporters. “All the things he’s done this year have been incredible. But at the end of the day, our team lost 7-2 tonight, and that’s where we are at.”

For most of the game, Dodgers pitchers humbled Colorado hitters — again. After getting no-hit for eight innings on Monday night, the Rockies were no-hit for five innings by right-hander Emmet Sheehan to begin Tuesday night’s game. It marked the first time in franchise history that the Rockies were no-hit for at least five innings in back-to-back games.

Colorado finally got on the scoreboard in the sixth. Kyle Karros led off with a single, advanced to second on Yanquiel Fernandez’s bloop double to left, and scored on Tyler Freeman’s single up the middle.

Sheehan’s slider baffled the Rockies, and he finished his seven-inning gem with nine strikeouts, one walk, and three hits allowed. Sheehan improved to 6-3 and whittled his ERA to 3.32. All told, the Rockies struck out 12 times.

“I think eight of our nine punches against (Sheehan) were slider-chase, so we had a tough time against that pitch tonight,” Schaeffer said.

Right-hander German Marquez, almost certainly pitching his final handful of games for the Rockies, played the good soldier by giving his team five innings and saving the bullpen. But the Dodgers beat him up for five runs on six hits, including a two-run homer by Mookie Betts in the third and a solo homer by Hernandez in the fourth.

“I thought he held his velo, I thought his curveball was pretty good, overall,” Schaeffer said of Marquez’s performance. “But he just got behind in counts, and that hurt, with the homer, specifically. He put the ball over the plate a little too much.”

Marquez struck out just two, and he has only six Ks over his last four starts. Marquez, who fell to 3-13, saw his ERA rise from 6.19 to 6.31. Marquez will be a free agent at the end of the season.

Colorado starters have a 6.67 ERA, which is on pace to surpass the 1996 Tigers’ (6.64) record for the highest in the modern era.

Hernandez hit his second homer in the eighth, a solo shot off Roansy Contreras. Freddie Freeman also hit a solo homer off Contreras in the eighth.

Wednesday pitching matchup

Rockies LHP Kyle Freeland (4-14, 5.10 ERA) at Dodgers LHP Blake Snell (3-4, 3.19)

8:10 p.m. Wednesday, Dodger Stadium

TV: Rockies.TV (streaming); Comcast/Xfinity (channel 1262); DirecTV (683); Spectrum (130, 445, 305, 435 or 445, depending on region).

Radio: 850 AM, 94.1 FM

Trending: The Rockies entered Tuesday night’s game against the Dodgers having not committed an error in their last eight games, their longest errorless streak since their 13-game stretch Sept. 4-17, 2023. The Rockies had committed just 21 errors since the All-Star break, tied for the 10th fewest among all teams — that, after leading the majors in errors during the first half of the season with 80. Last season, Colorado finished the year with a .986 team fielding percentage, tied for eighth in the majors and tied for the fifth-best in franchise history. The Rockies committed 82 total errors, the seventh-fewest in franchise history.

Pitching probables

Thursday: Rockies RHP McCade Brown (0-3, 12.54) at Padres TBA, 7:40 p.m.

Friday: Rockies RHP Tanner Gordon (5-6, 6.60) at Padres RHP Dylan Cease (7-11, 4.71), 7:40 p.m.