Hey Patrick, I have a general curiosity question about MLB front-office structure and, more specifically, job titles. I know and assume that all front offices are different and have their own uniqueness to them, but can you tell me what the difference is between the “president of baseball operations” and the “general manager?”

For the Rockies, we all know Paul DeDodesta is the new head honcho in the front office, but from the outside looking in he has all of the traditional responsibilities of a general manager (trades, free-agent signings, etc.) but not the job title, and his preceding front office leaders (Bill Schmidt, Jeff Bridich, Dan O’Dowd, etc) had the title of GM. Why doesn’t DePodesta have the job title GM? And if he is the final authority on baseball decisions, why hire a “GM?” Seems like with DePodesta in charge, our new GM has the job title in name only. I am just curious if you can elaborate on the differences between the roles?

— Douglas, Denver

Douglas, excellent question that I have been trying to answer myself. I know that DePodesta and new GM Josh Byrnes will work hand in hand, even though DePodesta is the actual boss of the front office. The title of “president of baseball operations” vs. “general manager” is often a matter of semantics.

Anyway, this is what Byrnes told me when I forwarded your question to him:

“At this point, I think most teams have those two titles. As you know, it’s a big operation. Internally, we are both involved in major league club roster decisions, scouting, player development, R&D, performance science, etc.

“In addition, we need to communicate with ownership, media, agents and other clubs. So, we divide responsibilities on all of those things.”

And this is what DePodesta said:

“My view is that Josh and I are partners in this. Both of us will be involved across the baseball operation, with each of us being a bit more involved or a bit less involved in certain areas at particular times of the calendar.”

What new systems, etc., will this front office deploy at the minor-league levels? How will spring training be run differently from the previous front office?

— Logan, Grand Junction

Logan, that remains to be seen. The Rockies’ new front office has said it’s working to get everybody on the same page. That’s been Job 1, and it entails using similar analytics and technology at all levels. Going forward, the franchise would like to add more coaches at the minor league level. We’ll see how that plays out.

As for spring training, manager Warren Schaeffer will have a huge role in structuring a new camp. I know he’s eager to lay out his plan. “Through the roof,” is how he put it. Schaeffer has thus far declined to reveal specifics about how spring training will change, other than saying he wants to focus on improving Colorado’s base running. We’ll know more soon.

Hey Patrick, a couple of questions. First, I am surprised by what is happening. I never thought that (owner) Dick Monfort would bring in outside help. If Monfort lets the new kids on the block run the show their own way, how long would it take to see the effects? I am guessing two to three years before we see anything, but I could be wrong.

Also, how do you think Walt Weiss will pan out in Atlanta? The Braves were my team before the Rockies existed (it was either them or the Cubs, as they were the only ones on TV. Yes, I am dating myself).

— Del, Lamar

Del, I think we are already seeing changes: cutting loose first baseman Michael Toglia and catcher Drew Romo; trading for outfielder Jake McCarthy and lefty reliever Brennan Bernardino; and bringing in free-agent starting pitcher Michael Lorenzen. There are no blockbuster moves there — I didn’t expect any — but I think they are solid decisions.

I don’t expect the Rockies’ record to dramatically improve in 2026, but maybe they can avoid their fourth consecutive 100-loss season. Baby steps. In the best of all possible worlds, the Rockies could sniff .500 in 2027 and make a playoff push in 2028.

You have to give Walker Monfort (Dick’s son) credit for the changes in the front office. I was skeptical he would go outside the organization to rebuild the team, but he did. Kudos to him.

As for Weiss, I’m a big fan. Every player I’ve talked to about Weiss has had positive things to say about him. He’s a solid baseball man, and he learned a lot during his time with the Rockies, as he told me during baseball’s winter meetings. With Weiss at the helm, I expect the Braves to be a contender in the NL East in 2026.

What do you think of the Rockies’ moves so far? Jake McCarthy seems like a cheap pickup for a flyer. I’m not hating on the additions of (pitchers)  Michael Lorenzen and Keegan Thompson either. I mean, they’re not going to make us a .500 team, but at least we’re slowly moving in the right direction.

— Jeffrey, Parker

Jeffrey, McCarthy’s athleticism makes him an intriguing player. Over his five-year big-league career, McCarthy has slashed .260/.324/.381 with 46 doubles, 20 triples, 24 homers and 139 RBIs. He has swiped 83 bases and hit 20 triples. His 29.9 feet/second sprint speed in 2025 was tied for fifth-fastest in the majors among players with at least 200 plate appearances.

But he needs to rebound from a disappointing season that saw him sent down to Triple-A.  After playing in 142 big-league games in 2024, he played in just 67 in 2025, slashing .204/.247/.345 (.591 OPS, 67 OPS+). The trade has a chance to be positive, but if it doesn’t work out, the loss of minor league Josh Grosz is not a big deal. Also, the Rockies have a surplus of young outfielders, so I imagine they will make another trade before spring training begins on Feb. 11.

Finally, while the additions of Lorenzen and Thompson aren’t game-changers, they give the Rockies some needed depth while they look to develop pitchers in the system.

Do you think we’ll try using Michael Lorenzen as a two-way player, maybe like a poor-man’s Shohei Ohtani? He can pitch and eat up innings and play in the outfield.

— Mike, Denver

Mike, Lorenzen will only be a pitcher for the Rockies. The club has more than enough outfielders, and they need starting pitching. I suppose he could be an emergency outfielder or a pinch-hitter.

Which young player is going to make a splash for us this year?

— Mark, Arvada

Mark, my pick is third baseman Kyle Karros. He’s just 23, and he’s still filling out his 6-foot-5, 220-pound frame. I think he’s going to get stronger and hit for more power. He won’t be a prodigious home run hitter, but he’ll show more pop than he did in his late-season debut last season, when he hit just one homer in 31 games (156 plate appearances).

With his strong arm and agility, Karros has the skills to be a solid third baseman with Gold Glove potential. At the plate, he slashed .226/.308/.277 (.585 OPS, 58 OPS+) with a 26.3% strikeout rate. That’s sub-par, but he has a good swing, and he’s going to improve at the plate.

Plus, Karros loves the game and is mature and disciplined. I think he’ll make a quantum leap in 2026.

My second choice to make a big improvement is left fielder Jordan Beck.

Colorado’s 40-year-old manager, having shed his interim tag, now gets a fresh start. He’s joined Paul DePodesta, the new president of baseball operations, along with Josh Byrnes, the new general manager, in an effort to raise the Rockies from the ashes of their 119-loss season.

Schaeffer will organize spring training 2026 his way.

“I’m through the roof about it,” he said. “This is something you look forward to for a long time. The process that we’re in right now, building a staff, is something that I’ve been wanting to do for a very, very long time.

“Getting a bunch of guys on the same page, pulling the same way, looking to develop the same mindset with these players. … We’ll try to create a new culture in spring training of what the Rockies look like moving forward.

“It’s a fresh start. With Paul coming in, with J.B. coming in, it just feels so fresh and new and exciting. It feels like we have a solid, good road ahead of us.”

Rockies fans will be forgiven if they counter Schaeffer’s optimism with pessimism. They have been down this offseason road before.

Still, there are indications that things are changing. The club has already jettisoned first baseman Michael Toglia, the first-round pick in 2019. It also cut loose catcher Drew Romo, who was the 35th overall pick in 2020 — the highest the Rockies have ever drafted a catcher. Those are signs that the new brass is setting the bar higher, no matter the player’s pedigree.

Rockies looking at possible free agents to fill gaping hole at first base

Plus, DePodesta says he's willing to try new things. Perhaps nothing as crazy as the "piggyback rotation" that failed so miserably in 2012, but new things nonetheless.

Asked, "How mad scientist are you?" DePodesta answered: "We've had some conversations with our pitching folks, and they've said, 'What do you think about this?' Or, 'What do you think about that?' And I've told them, everything is on the table."

"We've also had some good, objective data internally about some different things that may work, and other things, maybe not so much. We've already had some  really interesting discussions, and I'm really encouraged about the direction it's already headed."

That direction could include a new way to call pitches, via a new pitching coach.

According to a source, the Rockies will hire Alon Leichman as their new pitching coach. The club has not announced the move. Leichman's hire was first on Monday night. Leichman served as assistant pitching coach for Miami last season and held the same post with the Reds the two previous years.

Late last season, Marlins pitching coach Daniel Moskos and Leichman called pitches from the dugout. Whether or not the Rockies will go in that direction remains to be seen, but Schaffer has said he's open to some experimentation.

Colorado could also be changing its international team-building philosophy. While the Rockies have long invested in players from Latin America, they have largely ignored that talent pipeline from Japan and Korea.

DePodesta said that's going to change, and see the Rockies hunting for talent in Asia.

"I absolutely think it's important," he said. "We've talked about a necessity for us to be sort of active in every possible avenue to acquire talent. So, whether it's Latin America, whether it's Asia, whether it's the waiver wire, major league free agents, trades -- I mean, all of it -- I think we have to be actively involved in all of those to find some potential solutions for us."

For Schaeffer, improvement is all about taking care of business.

"I look at the daily process," he said. "Are we getting better every single day? That's legitimate ... and there are so many areas where we can get better.

"Obviously, with the season we had last year, there are a ton of areas that we can get better at. It's just a matter of being able to track them, set the standard and stick to it."

During his 11 seasons there as the Dodgers’ senior vice president of baseball operations, he won three World Series rings, including back-to-back championships in 2024-25. He also had one of the biggest payrolls in the majors and helped build one of baseball’s best farm systems.

So, why in the name of Shohei Ohtani did he give all of that up to come to Colorado and try to pull the 119-loss Rockies out of the basement?

Two major reasons. First, he accepted the job as the Rockies’ new GM because he liked the “intriguing challenge.” Second, he was eager to work with Paul DePodesta, the new president of baseball operations, whom he’s known since they both got their start in Cleveland’s front office in the mid-1990s.

“It was a hard decision,” the 55-year-old Byrnes said Friday during an introductory Zoom session with Colorado media. “I loved every day with the Dodgers and have a tremendous amount of respect for the people. But I’ve known Paul for 30 years, and he and I have always embraced challenges. I think he’s brilliant. I think there’s a lot we can both bring to this, and also not just tell stories about what we’ve done, but create a new future for this franchise.”

Byrnes will join DePodesta in Orlando, Fla., when baseball’s winter meetings begin on Monday. He said he still needs to get up to speed on what the Rockies have and what they don’t. He also knows he’s taking on an enormous challenge.

“Obviously, 119 losses, there’s no sugarcoating it,” he said. “There’s a lot of work to do. But if you really talk to people around the game, there’s quite a bit of intrigue in trying to solve it here.”

Byrnes is coming from an organization viewed as cutting-edge to the Rockies, a franchise seen as behind the times in analytics, coaching, and team-building. DePodesta, however, said the Rockies are making moves to catch up.

“There’s been real energy behind investing in the baseball operation — I won’t get into the details of exactly how we plan to allocate some of those funds, but there’s a real appetite for that,” DePodesta said. “We all realize that it’s a necessity in order to compete in today’s game.

“Josh and I have both been in situations with immense resources, and we’ve also been in situations that have had lesser resources, also by a significant amount. We feel very comfortable with what����ap available here. The mindset is that there’s a desire to invest pretty heavily on the baseball side.”

While fans of the Broncos, Nuggets, and Avalanche can dream of championships, Rockies fans have suffered through seven consecutive losing seasons. Byrnes wants to help change that.

“I wouldn’t come in here without some optimism and confidence that we can get there,” he said. “The excitement around those teams in Denver for winning is something you can feel, I’m sure. We want to be part of that, without a doubt.”

Roster moves. The Rockies continue to tweak their roster. On Friday, they waived catcher Drew Romo, the 35th overall pick in 2020. The Orioles claimed Romo. Right-handed pitcher Anthony Molina, a Rule 5 draft pick, was also waived. Molina was claimed by the Braves.

Romo, 24, hit just .167 in 19 major league games over two seasons. He managed to overcome “the yips” he came down with on throws back to the mound, but became expendable when Hunter Goodman became an All-Star and the first catcher in Rockies history to earn a Silver Slugger Award last season. Also, backup Braxton Fulford earned big-league playing time and surpassed Romo on the depth chart.

Two weeks ago, the Rockies non-tendered strikeout-prone first baseman Michael Toglia. He was the Rockies’ top pick (23rd overall) in the 2019 Draft out of UCLA.

That’s why on Sunday, the Rockies are under pressure to turn their fortunes around with the No. 4 overall pick at All-Star Week festivities in Atlanta.

The Rockies’ 12.1 total Wins Above Replacement from the draft since 2015 ranks last, according to  Colorado has only had two picks in that period accumulate more than 3.0 career bWAR: second baseman Brendan Rodgers (No. 3 overall in 2015) and center fielder Brenton Doyle (2019 fourth-round pick).

“For an organization that’s prided itself on developing homegrown players, it’s been a while since they planted somebody in the big leagues who’s an impact player,” noted MLB Pipeline reporter Jonathan Mayo.

Those statistics illustrate how the Rockies, who have long been a draft-and-develop organization, are headed to a third straight 100-loss season — a campaign on pace to end with the most losses in modern MLB history.

Through poor free-agent signings and a lack of effective trades, the club has made itself entirely dependent on being exceptional at drafting.

“When the big-league team is struggling as much as it is, it’s going to be a multi-year process,” MLB Pipeline senior writer Jim Callis said. “They have to get back to step one: find talent in the draft and internationally. And you probably have to look at trading some of your better big-league players to refurbish the turnaround.

“You have to start planning for 3, 4, 5 years down the road.”

“A really long, dark tunnel”

The missteps to get to this point have been a decade in the making.

Just as the Rockies were assembling a roster that produced consecutive playoff berths for the first time in franchise history in 2017 and ’18, the club had three glaring misses in the draft.

Between 2015 and 2016, Colorado selected a trio of right-handed pitchers in the first round who failed to yield a single big league win. Mike Nikorak and Robert Tyler never made the majors, while hard-throwing prep right-hander Riley Pint, taken No. 4 overall in 2016, posted a 22.09 ERA over five MLB appearances.

“It’s a really long, dark tunnel,” one MLB agent told The Denver Post on condition of anonymity because he needs to maintain a relationship with the club. “It’s an endless tunnel, really, especially with how they have gotten themselves into this situation by failing at their own blueprint that’s previously led to some success — drafting and developing a competitive homegrown club.”

The Rockies have picked in the top 10 of the first round in 10 of the last 13 drafts, including four top-four picks. And in seven of those 10 drafts, they had multiple first-round picks.

Southpaw Ryan Rolison never made it as a starter and fellow 2018 first-rounder Grant Lavigne is now in independent ball. The jury is still out on first baseman Michael Toglia (No. 23 in ’19), outfielder Zac Veen (No. 9 in ’20), catcher Drew Romo (No. 35 in ’20), outfielder Benny Montgomery (No. 8 in ’21) and right-hander Gabriel Hughes (No. 10 in ’22), but the clock is ticking.

“If you have three years in a row (from 2020 to ’22) where you have a top-10 pick, and if you said, ‘Would you do it again with a few years’ hindsight?’ and the answer is ‘No,’ that’s not great,” Baseball America editor-in-chief JJ Cooper said.

Mayo echoed Cooper, with a touch of optimism.

“We may have this conversation three years from now and (2024 first-rounder) Charlie Condon’s an All-Star, (2023 first-rounder) Chase Dollander’s established himself with Hughes in the rotation, (2022 first-round outfielders) Jordan Beck and Sterlin Thompson are regular big-leaguers and Zac Veen and Drew Romo have made it,” Mayo said.

“But I think at this point, you would’ve liked for some of these guys to not be TBDs and to be regulars.”

Slim margin for error

Hunter Goodman, a 2021 fourth-round pick, has been a glimmer of draft success this season with the catcher making the NL All-Star team as a reserve.

But before that, the last Rockies draft pick who made a high impact in the majors — for the purposes of this story, defined as a player who accumulated 10.0 career bWAR or made an All-Star team with Colorado — was southpaw Kyle Freeland, the club’s No. 8 overall selection in 2014. And in 2013, Colorado also hit on right-hander Jon Gray and third baseman Ryan McMahon.

But the draft is, ultimately, a crapshoot.

According to a the chances a first-round pitcher logs 1,000 strikeouts is 14.3%. For first-round hitters, the chances of 1,000 hits is 22.5%. So even with a slew of misses, the Rockies’ draft impact since 2012 is about on par with most of the division.

The Dodgers have had significantly more draft success than the rest of the NL West. But Colorado is comparable to the Giants, ahead of both the D-backs and Padres (San Diego’s high-profile prospect trades are a major factor), and in-between successful small market franchises in Tampa and Milwaukee.

Rockies Draft Yield Comparison	bWAR produced for drafting club since 2012	High-Impact Players (10.0 Career WAR and/or All-Star with club)
Rockies	55.2	4
Dodgers	104.2	6
Giants	57.2	2
Diamondbacks	44.4	2
Padres	16.5	1
Brewers	67.2	3
Rays	44.9	2

That data suggests the bigger issue for the Rockies is an over-reliance on the draft. The Rockies are the fifth-worst team in baseball when it comes to identifying talent, according to a .

Colorado could supplement its roster by mining the international market and making impact signings through free agency, but neither avenue has been consistently successful. That’s made the margin for error in the draft very slim.

“Where other clubs might have the financial resources where if they miss on something (in the draft), they can go out and spend the money, ideally we’re going to have somebody from within fill (that need) for us,” Rockies GM Bill Schmidt acknowledged.

Issues in analytics, development

The Rockies are also hindered by their lack of investment in analytics.

The Dodgers’ research and development department numbers about 40 employees. That’s more than twice the R&D staffing of the Rockies, who, according to the  have 18 employees involved in analytics. It remains one of the smallest R&D departments in baseball.

Interim manager Warren Schaeffer, who served as Triple-A Albuquerque’s manager prior to his arrival at the big-league level, acknowledged that analytics’ role in development needs to be a point of emphasis.

“We can always get more forward-thinking,” Schaeffer said. “That’s a conversation for the offseason, with a collaboration between a lot of different people higher up to think about.  … If you’re not always looking to get better in certain areas — in every area — I don’t think you’re doing what you need to be doing.”

Colorado built a pitching lab in Scottsdale in 2023 and has had a video/analytics coordinator at every level of the organization in recent years. The Rockies also started using a pitching machine that simulates specific pitchers and pitches.

But a lack of analytical manpower remains a significant hurdle, and turnover in top positions within the department hasn’t helped. In 2022, the Rockies hired Brian Jones — previously the team’s video coordinator — to be the research and development director, despite Jones not having any experience in such a role beforehand.

Those staffing issues are in conjunction with Colorado being behind in overall technology, according to bullpen coach Dustin Garneau.

“In the technology aspect of it, there are areas where we can invest more, as far as Trackman and Hawk-Eye, and stuff like that, to where we can have a better understanding of where our players are at and find ways to improve them,” Garneau said. “So we aren’t using the ‘eye test’ so much. So we (want) to have more technology to track data for defense, offense and pitching.”

The MLB agent who described the club’s future as a “long, dark tunnel” added that the Rockies’ insularity contributes to their inability to keep up with current analytical trends.

“You’re not going to see the Rockies hire people at the tip of the spear in analytics,” the agent said.

Colorado’s scouting department has been led by the same faces for decades. Schmidt has been with the club since 1999, senior director of scouting operations Marc Gustafson came aboard in 1993 and assistant GM of scouting Danny Montgomery was hired in 1991.

“That (continuity) is something to be proud of, but I don’t know if the flip side of that coin is a lack of fresh perspectives that’s hurting the decision-making process and the advancement (into deeper analytics),” Mayo said.

With a shortage of top prospects and a lag in analytics, the Rockies are having to rush some of their best prospects due to the team’s needs at the major league level. The Rockies have debuted nine players in 2025, a year after tying the franchise record with 12 big league debuts.

It’s a similar theme to what contributed to the White Sox’s modern-record 121 losses last season.

“Guys are being allowed to develop in the big leagues and that’s never been done,” ex-White Sox outfielder Tommy Pham as Chicago closed in on the record.

Judging by performance and the number of demotions back to the minors, the bulk of those Rockies who debuted in ’24 and ’25 weren’t ready — even those like Toglia, who was given a starting job. This season, the first baseman has a minus-0.9 WAR and leads baseball with a 38.2 strikeout percentage.

“If you look at Michael Toglia’s minor-league performance, there was nothing there that said, ‘This is a guy who’s established that he’s ready to be a big-league regular,'” Cooper said. “… That’s the kind of thing where it feels like there’s been a lot of half-measures.”

Pressure on No. 4 pick in ’25

The Rockies’ last two first-round picks, Condon and Dollander, have shown early signs they could be part of the long-term solution. Colorado will get an opportunity to snag another such player when it picks No. 4 overall on Sunday.

Anti-taking measures ensure that Colorado cannot select higher than 10th in the 2026 draft, which makes hitting on that top-four selection all the more important.

This year, there’s a trio of pitchers atop the draft rankings in LSU southpaw Kade Anderson, Florida State southpaw Jamie Arnold and California prep right-hander Seth Hernandez. Oklahoma prep infielder Ethan Holliday, son of ex-Rockies star Matt Holliday, is the draft’s by both MLB Pipeline and Baseball America.

“If the Nationals don’t take Holliday at 1, then the Rockies will have the opportunity to take him,” Mayo said.

The two agents who spoke to The Post for this story think that stockpiling pitchers at the top of the draft, as the Rockies have done lately, is the best continued course of action for a team unable to sign prominent starters in free agency.

Schmidt remains steadfast in ignoring the outside noise and speculation about his job status at season’s end — “That’s for other people to decide,” he says — while the Rockies try to take a small step toward getting back on track on Sunday.

And after the draft, identifying and focusing on an organizational area of strength would be a good place to start.

“As an organization, you want to be able to say, ‘We feel like we’re as good as anybody at X (in development),'” Cooper said. “You want to have something your organization is, if not best-in-class, top-tier in. If you ask people in other organizations about the Rockies, it’s hard to say there’s something the Rockies are clearly top-tier in right now.”

Wednesday at Salt River Fields

On the mound: The Rockies received strong pitching, albeit vs. a Padres’ travel squad. Right-hander Bradley Blalock, 24, in the running to be a long reliever or possibly a starter, pitched two scoreless innings, reducing his ERA to 1.74. He allowed three hits, struck out three and walked one. … Righty Jake Woodford, 28, got the start and allowed one run over two innings on two hits. He struck out one. He has a 6.75 ERA. … Right-hander Zach Agnos, 24, could be forcing his way into the major-league bullpen. He has a 4.32 ERA after pitching two scoreless innings, allowing one hit, one walk and fanning three.

At the plate: Nolan Jones, who’s penciled in as the starting left fielder, finally broke out with a big day, hitting 4 for 4 (including a double) with three RBIs, raising his average to .250. … Sean Bouchard and No. 3 prospect Zac Veen are battling it out for a roster spot. Both impressed against the Padres. Bouchard hit 3 for 4 with a double, home run and three RBIs.  He’s batting .379. Veen, hitting .313, bashed a three-run triple in the eighth. … Designated hitter Kris Bryant’s lackluster spring continued. Bryant went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts and is batting .143.

Roster moves: Three of the Rockies’ most-promising prospects are no longer in major-league camp. Infielder Adael Amador and catcher Drew Romo were optioned to Triple-A Albuquerque. Infielder Kyle Karros was reassigned to minor league camp.

Colorado has 41 players remaining in major league camp, including 10 non-roster invitees.

Up next: Reds at Rockies, 1:10 p.m. (MDT) Tuesday

Rockies probable pitchers: RHP Chase Dollander, RHP Jake Bird, RHP Jimmy Herget, LHP Luis Peralta.

— Patrick Saunders, The Denver Post

Pose a Rockies- or MLB-related question for the Rockies Mailbag.

Charlie Condon is obviously not close to making the big club, but how’s he doing in minor league camp? Is he beginning to gain traction as a professional baseball player?

— John, Denver

John, great question. Condon, the third overall pick in last summer’s draft with sky-high expectations, had a terrible debut professional season. At the Rockies’ fanfest in January, general manager Bill Schmidt said there was a reason for that.

“The thing with Charlie last year … he had bruised his thumb and kinda didn’t tell us that he had bruised his thumb,” Schmidt said. “So he kinda played through it, which I think affected the performance.”

Condon hit just .180 with one home run, four doubles, 11 RBIs and a .518 OPS in 25 games at High-A Spokane. That was disappointing, considering he won the Golden Spikes Award at the University of Georgia last year, hitting .433 with 37 home runs, 20 doubles, 78 RBIs and a 1.565 OPS in 60 games.

It’s hard to judge where Condon is now. Minor league camp is just that, a camp. We won’t know much more about Condon until the season begins. I expect he will return to High-A Spokane to start 2025. I still believe he’s going to be an impactful major league player.

How far away is Drew Romo from being the starting everyday catcher?

— Cooper, Calgary, Alberta

Cooper, Romo is at least another season away. That’s one of the reasons why the Rockies re-signed veteran Jacob Stallings. Romo does some things very well and he’s improved his blocking skills. He’s also more confident managing a game. Manager Bud Black said there has been “marked improvement” in Romo’s all-around game.

Romo played in 16 games in his debut 2024 season, hitting .176 (9 for 51) with a .208 on-base percentage. He got little playing time down the stretch because the Rockies wanted to see what Hunter Goodman could do. Romo hasn’t hit for power while Goodman has, so I think Goodman will make the 26-man roster and Romo will begin in Triple-A Albuquerque. I wrote about Goodman early in spring training.

Romo is only 23 and he was drafted straight out of high school, so he faced a steep learning curve. Catching is one of the most challenging positions in team sports and it will take more time for him to become a primary catcher.

Drew Romo’s return throws to the mound are a joke! Why is this allowed to continue? His “rainbow” return throws allowed at least one runner to steal third from second last year. Think the opposition didn’t notice? More to come…

— Tom Peck, Erie

Tom, Romo’s throws back to the mound are unsightly but the Rockies don’t seem overly concerned, as I wrote late last summer. He has no issues when he comes up firing from behind the plate. He’s still trying to overcome “the yips” when he makes throws back to the pitcher.

Manager Bud Black said recently that Romo is not lobbing the ball back as softly as last season.

But I agree that the opposition will look to take advantage of Romo’s push throws to the mound. He needs to clean it up.

What is Sean Bouchard’s future on the team? He took a step back last season, but he’s (shown) a lot of good stuff but isn’t talked about much.

— Spencer, Golden

Spencer, injuries have been the main topic regarding Bouchard over the last two seasons. That’s a shame because he’s shown glimpses of being a solid, steady outfielder when healthy.

Bouchard, 28, is having a solid spring and I would not rule him out for a spot on the 26-man roster. Entering Tuesday, Bouchard was hitting .444 (7 for 18), with one homer, two doubles, one triple, three RBIs, four strikeouts and no walks. Cactus League statistics can be misleading, but Bouchard has looked good.

Bouchard debuted in 2022 with a big splash, hitting .297 with a .954 OPS and three homers in 28 games. But he had surgery for torn left biceps in spring 2023. Last season, Bouchard suffered an oblique injury and began the year at Triple-A Albuquerque. He played in just 31 big-league games and hit .187 with one homer. He had postseason surgery for a fractured hamate in his right hand.

Bouchard is a strong, dark horse candidate to make the roster.

Greetings Patrick, thanks for great stories throughout the fall and winter. With power hitting and pitching at the top of the pyramid of success for the Rockies, which dynamic are they closest to being competitive in? The Rox won’t lose another 100 games, as a few of these top picks will filter through, as Carnac the Magnificent told me. Cheers on another baseball season!

— Robert Emmerling, Limon

Robert, thanks for your kind words and for continuing to read my coverage.

First of all, the Rockies will not lose 100 games again. I’m sure of that. My spring training prediction is a 72-90 record. The Post’s sports editor Matt Schubert predicts 75 wins for the Rockies. That’s no reason to do a victory dance but it’s a step in the right direction.

As to the crux of your question, I believe the Rockies’ pitching will be markedly improved this season. I’m still not sold on the offense because the high strikeout rate remains problematic.

Is it too early to worry that Nolan Jones might not return to his 2023 form?

— Jason, Visalia, Calif.

No, it’s not too early to worry. That’s why I wrote my recent Sunday feature: “Can Nolan Jones be the comeback kid? The Rockies are counting on it.” The Rockies are hopeful that Jones will rebound but they are far from certain that he will.

Jones’ spring training started rough. He was hitless in 13 at-bats with two walks and four strikeouts. Entering Tuesday’s game, Jones was hitting .056 (1 for 18) with one RBI, two walks and five strikeouts, but the Rockies tell me that Jones’ swing has looked very good lately. The left fielder hit 2 for 3 Tuesday afternoon to raise his average to .143.

Yes, he would occasionally play first base or fill in as a corner outfielder, but his home was always behind the plate. Now comes his chance to make it his permanent big-league residence.

“My whole career, I’ve thought of myself as a primary catcher, and this offseason, I spent 90% of my time working on my defense,” Goodman said Tuesday as the Rockies held their first full-squad spring training workout. “Catching is my favorite, and it’s the position I’m best at, so it was a good offseason for me.”

Manager Bud Black and bench coach/catching coach Mike Redman told Goodman to concentrate solely on catching this winter, coaxing Goodman to improve his skills, particularly his throws to the bases, by finding a quicker release point.

“We wanted to be fair to him and give Hunter his best chance to make the team, so we told him to concentrate on catching,” Black said. “I didn’t want his attention diverted.”

Goodman, 25, enters camp as the No. 2 catcher behind veteran Jacob Stallings, 35.

Drew Romo, 23, the 35th pick of the 2020 draft who made his big-league debut last season, remains in the mix as camp begins. Non-roster invitee Austin Nola, 35, and Braxton Fulford, 26, will also get their chances.

But Goodman’s growth behind the plate — his blocking skills and game-calling improved dramatically last season — and especially his power, make him one of the more intriguing players in camp.

He does have minor-league options, so he can be sent down if he struggles. But if he proves himself in camp, he’ll have a chance to get a couple of starts a week and perhaps more as the season progresses.

“Catching is something you have to embrace because it is so tough, especially at this level, but that’s what I want,” Goodman said. “You have to learn to grind through it.”

Then Goodman paused, smiled, and added: “I think a lot of catchers are a little different, a little messed up in the head, maybe, but you just go out there and do what you can do.”

Goodman’s overall batting line last season was subpar (190/.228/.417), and his 28.6% strikeout rate was too high, but he still hit 13 homers in 224 plate appearances. He can scorch a baseball. His 114.7 mph double on May 24 off the Phillies’ Cristopher Sánchez was the hardest base hit for a Rockie since Nolan Jones’ 115.3 mph home run on Aug. 8, 2023. His 96.5 mph average velocity on batted balls ranked fourth on the team.

Goodman launched five of his 13 homers in September, when he started getting regular playing time at catcher. The peak of his season was a three-hit, two-homer, seven-RBI game on Sept. 13 against the Cubs.

Stallings, who is so good at handling a pitching staff and so familiar with the tools of the trade, has been impressed by Goodman’s growth.

“I was telling everybody last spring that we needed to get Hunter with the catchers more because he was kind of all over the place with all of the other positions,” said Stallings, who returned to the Rockies after signing a one-year, $2.5 million contract during the offseason.

“This was a good move because you just don’t see that kind of power in catchers too often,” Stallings continued.  “We saw that last year. I mean, it’s legit power. Hunter hits the ball hard.

“On the catching side, I was impressed with how he did. For a guy who hasn’t caught a lot of games in his (pro) career, I thought he did a really good job. He’s got a good head on his shoulders and he’s not overwhelmed at all. I’m looking for him to take a step forward this year.”

Put your feet up: Black said the Rockies don’t have a detailed plan regarding center fielder Brenton Doyle’s playing time, but Black made it clear that he wants to give Doyle a few breaks from the wear and tear of playing center at Coors Field.

“We’re going to talk about it for sure,” Black said. “That position takes its toll on guys, especially at Coors Field. … So we’ll look to get him off his feet when we can.”

In games when Doyle isn’t in center — Sam Hilliard looks like his likely backup — Doyle will often be the designated hitter.

Footnotes: Right-hander German Marquez, returning from injury, threw the first live bullpen of camp and looked sharp and strong. He cut loose with a 98 mph fastball. … Hall of Famer Todd Helton showed up at camp Tuesday and watched various players take batting practice. Helton is a special assistant to general manager Bill Schmidt and works primarily with minor-league players.

Less than three weeks before pitchers and catchers are scheduled to officially report to Rockies spring training in Scottsdale, the club says it has a chance to take a step forward this summer following consecutive 100-loss seasons.

“We’re closer,” Rockies manager Bud Black said at Rockies Fest at Coors Field. “Some young players are going to get an opportunity at some point in the year. There’s some talent coming, as we’ve been talking about the last couple of years.

“… You look across the landscape of professional sports, teams emerge. The Kansas City Royals emerged last year, with a huge jump, and who had the Washington Commanders playing Sunday with a win to get in the Super Bowl?”

Most critics and sportsbooks are again projecting the Rockies to be as bad as they were in 2023 (club-record 103 losses) and 2024 (101 losses). Competing for a spot in the playoffs, which Colorado last made in 2018, is still considered a longshot.

Colorado’s inactivity on the hot stove is fueling concerns of a repeat 100-loss campaign. The Rockies’ lone major league free agent signings so far this offseason are bringing back catcher Jacob Stallings, and getting infielders Thairo Estrada and Kyle Farmer on the open market. They also claimed right-handed reliever Jimmy Herget off waivers from the Cubs.

But Black, GM Bill Schmidt and others within the organization believe that if the team’s primary players stay healthy, the Rockies can be better than expected in 2025.

“There’s reason to be optimistic,” third baseman Ryan McMahon said. “We’re trending toward the end of the growth period.

“… We’ve had a bunch of young guys go through a couple of tours in the league, and usually in that third year, you take another big jump. Getting German Marquez and Antonio Senzatela back will be big, and we’ve got some guys waiting down in the bushes, and when they get here it’s not going to take long for them to make an impact.”

Senzatela missed all of last season recovering from Tommy John surgery. Marquez missed half the summer for the same reason before coming back at midseason, only to be shut down after one start due to a stress reaction in his right elbow.

Black said Marquez and Senzatela are fully healthy heading into spring training. Those two right-handers will be central in Colorado’s rotation along with the three other projected starters — right-hander Ryan Feltner and southpaws Austin Gomber and Kyle Freeland.

Colorado also has some promising pitchers knocking on the door of a debut. That includes the team’s top prospect, right-hander Chase Dollander, as well as southpaws Carson Palmquist and Sean Sullivan, all three of whom will be in spring training as non-roster invites.

“If something does happen (to one of our starting pitchers), we do have some young kids who are ready to step up, and that hasn’t been the case the last couple of years,” Schmidt said.

Schmidt said the club may sign more free agents in the coming weeks, potentially to add to the bullpen.

The GM and Black also are still holding out hope that Kris Bryant can be a productive contributor to the lineup following three injury-marred seasons in LoDo in which the 2016 National League MVP has failed to live up to his seven-year, $182 million contract.

Black also addressed some of the positional battles to come in spring training in corner outfield and at catcher, where Stallings, Hunter Goodman and Drew Romo will all compete for time. The Rockies are set with starters at several positions, including third base (McMahon), shortstop (Ezequiel Tovar), second (likely Estrada) and center field (Brenton Doyle).

Black said a key to Colorado outperforming low expectations in 2025 is getting breakout performances from still-unproven prospects such as Romo and corner outfielder Jordan Beck, whose rookie season was derailed by a broken hand.

“Can one of these young guys pop? Maybe,” Black said. “Can a couple of them pop? That’d be great, and that����ap what we need to happen.”

Pitchers and catchers report to Salt River Fields at Talking Stick on Feb. 13, while Colorado’s first full-squad workout is Feb. 18 and the Cactus League opener is Feb. 21. The Rockies’ season opener is March 28 in Tampa Bay, and the home opener is April 4 against the Athletics.

The Rockies outfielder, who turns 23 on Thursday, has played four injury-ridden professional seasons and has never gotten close to making the big-league roster. If 2025 is his year, he will have to beat out a slew of other talented outfielders.

And he’s got to stay healthy.

The ninth overall pick of the 2020 draft out of Florida’s Spruce Creek High School still needs more playing time in the minors, so he almost certainly won’t begin the season on the big-league roster. He’ll start in Triple-A Albuquerque, where he must prove himself.

While general manager Bill Schmidt still believes in Veen, Schmidt knows it’s time for Veen to step up.

Veen is currently working out at the club’s Salt River Fields complex with Rockies veterans.

“I saw Zac the other day, and he looked good physically,” Schmidt said Monday on the first day of baseball’s Winter Meetings. “Like I told him, ‘The key is you’ve got to stay on the field. Dependability is going to be your biggest asset.’ The last couple of years, that hasn’t been the case.”

In 2023, Veen tried playing through an injured left hand that had affected him for much of the 2022 season. After batting .209 in 46 games at Double-A Hartford,  he underwent surgery in June 2023. Last season, he started hot at Double-A until back soreness and a jammed thumb wiped out much of his season.

He finally made it to Triple-A Albuquerque, playing in 21 games. He hit .220 with six home runs and three doubles and stole six bases.

Schmidt quickly reminds skeptics that Rockies icon Charlie Blackmon struggled with injuries even after his major league debut in 2011. It wasn’t until Blackmon broke out with an All-Star season in 2014 at age 27 that he became a star. Schmidt also said that Blackmon’s legendary drive and work ethic didn’t appear overnight.

“Charlie learned that over time,” Schmidt said. “Hopefully, the maturity comes (for Veen). We are still trying to help him mature.”

The Rockies added Veen to the 40-man roster last month, thus protecting him from being poached in Wednesday’s Rule 5 Draft.

Catching up. It’s no secret that manager Bud Black demands a lot from his catchers and covets defense and game-calling. So it wasn’t a huge surprise that the Rockies signed veteran catcher Austin Nola to a minor league deal with an invitation to big-league camp. However, Nolan slashed only .174/.260/.298 over 191 plate appearances with Triple-A Omaha last season and hasn’t played in the majors since 2023, when he played 52 games for the Padres. The Royals outrighted Nola off their 40-man roster in September.

The 34-year-old now gets a chance to show the Rockies if he has anything left.

Veteran Jacob Stallings, who re-signed with the club last month, will be the primary catcher, but Nola will get a shot because young catchers Hunter Goodman, Drew Romo and Braxton Fulford still need developing, whether with the Rockies or at Triple-A.

Fulford, who turned 26 on Tuesday, is an intriguing prospect. The catcher from Texas Tech slashed .242/.341/.391 with 10 homers and 21 doubles in 92 games at Double-A last season.

“Those three young guys (Romo, Fulford and Goodman) have some things they have to clean up,” Black said. “Nevertheless, they’re getting closer, and this winter, they each have their own set of goals and things we put in front of them to handle.

“So we feel good about those three guys. For me, there’s five catchers (in the mix). I’ll throw Fulford in there because he had a good year in Double-A, especially the second half.”

Hurdle on hot seat. Clint Hurdle, the former Rockies manager and now a special assistant to Schmidt, will represent the club on Tuesday in the MLB Draft Lottery. The Rockies, who lost 101 games last season, and Miami (100 losses) have the best chance to get the No. 1 pick in the 2025 draft (22.5%).

“We’re excited, and we think there are going to be some good players at the top of the draft,” Schmidt said. “I just hope Clint doesn’t screw it up.”

Opening-day delay. The Rockies’ 2025 season-opener against the Tampa Bay Rays was pushed back until March 28 to give the Rays an extra day to alter the New York Yankees’ Steinbrenner Field. The Rays will play their home games at the Yankees’ spring training facility because Hurricane Milton damaged Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg on Oct. 9.

“I know that the Rays and MLB will do everything in their power to make it feel like a major league game,” Black said.

Pose a Rockies- or MLB-related question for the Rockies Mailbag.

Coors Field is such an iconic part of the Rockies’ brand, but as someone who works in MLB sports modeling and projection, it’s the top hitter’s park by a mile every single year in MLB. Fenway is getting close, and you see the Red Sox tanking, too.

At what point would ownership consider major renovations to the stadium — or a new one — to protect pitchers to the other extreme and play more low-scoring contests? I’m talking about a 550-foot center field. It’s how the Rays and Athletics can field more competitive efforts with significantly less talent/payroll.

— Austin, Lubbock, Texas

Austin, I’ve been asked a similar question many times over the years and I can tell you that there are no plans to radically change Coors Field. And the Rockies have a lease at Coors Field through 2047.

Many fans’ conceptions about Coors Field are incorrect. Yes, it is the most extreme offensive ballpark in the majors, but it’s not primarily about the home runs given up in LoDo. In 2024, for example, 109 homers were hit at Coors, ranking eighth in the majors. Cincinnati’s Great American Ballpark (“Great American Small Park”) led the way with 128 homers.

Of course, the Rockies’ lack of production played a part in that ranking, but through the last 15 years, Coors has not given up the most homers in the majors.

The bigger problem is the size of the outfield, which is the biggest in the majors. Coors Field’s dimensions — 390 feet to left-center field, 415 to straightaway center, 375 to the bullpens — create a large expanse of green.

Line drives into the gaps and bloop singles into no-man’s land are the hits that haunt pitchers. For example, Baseball Savant gives Coors Field a score of 198 on triples, by far the most in the majors (Arizona’s Chase Field and Kansas City’s Kaufmann Stadium with 168 tied for second). That 198 number is calculated so that “100” is the average for that metric.

Boston’s Fenway Park led the way with a score of 123 on doubles while Coors ranked second with 118.

If you want to take a deep dive into the statistics on major league ballparks, check out .

Moving the center field well back to “550 feet” (I assume you’re exaggerating) makes no sense. It would only make the ballpark bigger, and inside-the-park homers could become epidemic.

The Rockies have made some adjustments over the years. The most significant was the “Bridich Barrier” installation in 2016. The screen atop the wall raised the height in right-center field from just under 8 feet to 16 feet, 6 inches. Former general manager Jeff Bridich created it, and former shortstop Trevor Story nicknamed it.

There have long been discussions about reconfiguring the left and center field walls, but it would be problematic. If the fences in left and left-center were moved in and the wall built up, the Rockies would have to remove at least several rows of seats, many of them designated for fans with disabilities.

For now, the solution is developing better and tougher pitchers and a Rockies offensive that turns Coors into a house of horrors for opposing pitchers.

One of the top-10 pitching coaches over the years was Leo Massone. Any chance he could be brought into the Rockies staff to help resurrect its young arms? The club has a new pitching lab and the wisdom of Leo and Bud (Black) might speed up the youngster’s careers. What are your thoughts? Thanks for your coverage.

— John P., Aurora

John, I don’t see that ever happening. As respected as Massone is, he’s now 76 years old. Plus, I don’t think he’d be a fit for the Rockies in this day and age of advanced analytics. Plus, Coors Field would drive the old-school Massone crazy.

FYI, here are the current men charged with developing Rockies pitching:

• Flint Wallace, pitching strategist

• Steve Foster, director of pitching operations

• Darryl Scott, pitching coach

• Dustin Garneau, bullpen coach (recently hired)

• Bud Black, manager

Do you think the Rockies will ever land a major Japanese star who’s coming over from Japan? And not one we acquire through trade or free agency like Kaz Matsui. Roki Sasaki wouldn’t join us because he’s a pitcher and that’s not a great career move pitching at Coors Field for half the season. But what about a guy like Munetaka Murakami? He broke Nippon Professional Baseball’s single-season mark for most home runs by a Japanese player a couple of years back. Lord knows we could use some more power in the lineup and he’s eligible to come over in 2025.

— Mike, Denver

Mike, the short answer is no — at least not now. The Rockies are not a major player in the Asian baseball market and don’t plan to be.

Last fall, as part of The Denver Post’s “Rockie Way” series, I wrote:

While bigger-market teams have been actively signing talented Asian players — Los Angeles Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani being the prime example — the Rockies have waved the white flag.

“It����ap about where you put your resources, and we have put more into Venezuela, Mexico and the Dominican Republic,” (general manager Bill) Schmidt explained. “We feel like we have a better chance there. It����ap difficult to go head-to-head when you’re talking about the Mets and Yankees, Red Sox and Dodgers; those kinds of teams.”

Hey Patrick, hope you’re enjoying the offseason! What do you think of Drew Romo’s chances of being the main guy behind the plate next year? I think he has Gold Glove potential if his bat keeps him in the lineup.

— Gabriel, Boston

Gabriel, Romo has a long way to go before he becomes a No. 1 catcher. He’s grown defensively and is learning to handle the pitching staff more confidently, but he’s still raw in many ways. You have to remember that he’s only 23 and turned pro straight out of high school.

Hunter Goodman supplanted Romo as the No. 2 catcher at the end of last season, in part because Romo was struggling at the plate in limited opportunities. In 16 games (53 plate appearances), he slashed .177/.208/.235 with no home runs and a 34% strikeout rate.

It’s way too early to talk about Romo winning a Gold Glove. His first step is earning a spot on the big-league roster in spring training.

Patrick, are our coaches preaching patience to our batters? We had the second-most strikeouts and the fifth-worst number of walks last year. Our batting slash is miserable on the road: .217/.275/.364. That’s White Sox territory of badness. Is it our batting coach? Is it a lack of talent? What’s going on?

— Marshall, Parker

Marshall, I’ve fielded this question a lot over the last few years. Here was my response from a Rockies Mailbag from last month:

“I’ve asked around, and it����ap clear that general manager Bill Schmidt and manager Bud Black believe Meulens is a good coach and a solid teacher. This is despite the Rockies’ terrible team batting average (.242) and high strikeouts (1,617), both of which were the worst in franchise history.

So, if Meulens is, indeed a good coach, as the Rockies insist, that leaves me with a number of conclusions:

• The Rockies had a bushel full of young players getting at-bats this past season, which is certainly a primary reason for the poor offensive output. (Then again, the Rockies have had a sub-par offense for five seasons now.)

• The Rockies have failed to draft and develop enough good hitters. Not potential sluggers, mind you, but accomplished hitters who don’t strike out a lot, put the ball in play, get on base and move runners over.

• The current generation of players thrived at the lower levels of baseball by swinging for the fences, but when they face big-league pitchers, they don’t have the approach or the experience to get the job done. Plenty of players — many of whom have their own hitting coaches during the offseason — can be very stubborn when it comes to making changes to their swing and approach at the plate.”