Walker Monfort on Tuesday shot down the notion that his family would sell the Rockies. With that, the club president refuted a widely shared column by Denver Gazette columnist Woody Paige last month that said the Monforts plan to sell a majority stake of the team to the Penner Sports Group, following the negotiation of a new collective bargaining agreement between MLB owners and the MLB Players Association.

“There is not a plan (to sell the team),” Walker Monfort told reporters at season-closing press conference. “Our relationship as it exists (with Penner Sports Group) has been publicly explained, not only by our end but by the Broncos and Penner Sports Group as well. From our standpoint, they’re partners.”

The Penner Sports Group, whose majority owners are Denver Broncos owner Greg Penner and his wife, Carrie Walton Penner, bought a 40% share of the Rockies on April 10. With that, the Penner Sports Group became the largest minority owners of the club. The investment also enabled the Rockies to wipe away their debt while providing additional capital.

Paul DePodesta on 2026 Rockies: ‘I’m sort of very dissatisfied with some of the results’

"One of the key reasons we entered into this partnership was to help clear ourselves of debt that we took on from the COVID days, and then the loss of our (regional sports network)," Monfort said. "We're in a much better financial position today because of that partnership than we would've been had we not entered into it. And so as we talk about things we can do this offseason, this gives us a ton more flexibility compared to where we were positioned last year."

Monfort's dad, Dick Monfort, and his uncle Charlie Monfort have been the majority owners of the Rockies since 2005. In that time, Colorado made a surprise run to the World Series in 2007 and also returned to the playoffs in '09, '17 and '18, but have largely struggled to be competitive, including the franchise's current run of four consecutive 100-plus-loss seasons.

Walker Monfort said the Rockies' front office has built a working relationship with Greg Penner and Carrie Walton Penner since the couple, as part of the Walton-Penner Ownership Group, purchased the Broncos for a then-record $4.65 billion in 2022.

Since then, the NFL's richest ownership group has seen the franchise's valuation nearly double, with Sportico estimating the team is entering the 2026 season. As the Broncos have become competitive again on the field, making the AFC Championship last year, off the field, the ownership group built a new team facility in Dove Valley and has plans for a retractable-roof stadium at Burnham Yard.

"We keep in touch with them," Walker Monfort said. "Obviously, right now, they're very heavily focused on the Broncos, which we're constantly rooting for... We meet on occasion."

The Rockies had a , which ranked 21st in baseball and last in the National League West.

That’s right. A fourth consecutive 100-loss season demands fans reach deeper into their wallets.

The optics are awful. The reaction is anger. And the reason is only defensible if the Rockies show they want to microwave their rebuild by adding a few free agents.

The fans’ annual frustration shifted from the starting pitching and managing over the last month, landing loudly in president Walker Monfort’s email box.

With his father Dick stepping away from the daily operations, Walker received credit for eschewing the franchise’s silo approach that featured loyalty to incompetence. He hired president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta and general manager Josh Byrnes, while signing off on 20 new baseball staffers from outside the organization.

The team also left the Stone Age and embraced technology, building up its infrastructure.

Year over year, the Rockies improved their record from 43-119 to 58-104. But a 13-37 skid after the All-Star break left a sour taste in fans’ mouths, which coincided with a late August email about the spike in season-ticket prices.

I called Walker Monfort on Wednesday and gave him an opportunity to address the issue.

“The timing is never right. We care immensely about our season-ticket holders. We understand their frustration. But we needed to play catch-up,” Monfort said. “It had nothing to do with our record. When the email went out, we were on pace for around 66 wins. Our goal is to grow the team on and off the field. In order to compete we have to narrow the gap between us and our competitors.”

Tell that to the season-ticket holders whose fingers are pointing and wagging at ownership.

While understanding small increases — from 2022-2026 the club’s average price increased at an annual rate of 1.6% compared to 5.3% for comparable mid-market teams, per the Rockies — the latest jump left one season-ticket holder irritated.

The communication to me read, in part, “While I understand that the team has added staff to help improve the team, I believe that these are management decisions that were long overdue. It means that management has been saving money since 2021. The decisions to add a good amount of staff should be paid by management, not dumped on the backs of season ticket holders.”

The “why” for the bump is not going to placate boosters who have endured eight straight losing seasons. But Monfort laid out the reasons.

In 2025 and 2026, he said the Rockies ranked 29th out of 30 in lowest season ticket pricing in Major League Baseball. According to the club, mid-market teams will feature season ticket prices 40% higher than the Rockies in 2027, though uncertainty exists with that number  because of a potential work stoppage.

With Colorado having one of the highest minimum wages in the country, operating costs also have increased, according to Monfort.

And in 2023, the Rockies lost their local TV deal with AT&T Sports, leaving them as partners with MLB local media. It slashed the team’s TV revenue “by a third of what it was supposed to be in 2026,” per Monfort. The loss was in the millions.

But even diehard Up with Purple folks are saving their Kleenex for more worthy causes after watching the franchise finish last 11 times and never win a division title since its inception in 1993.

Besides, why not just hit up the Broncos for more money after Greg Penner and Carrie Walton Penner bought a 40% stake in the Rockies, valued at roughly $672 million, on April 10?

“The investment Greg and Carrie made was a big business move. It put us in a much better financial position to help us clear off debt (created by the COVID pandemic of games without fans and the loss of local TV revenue),” Monfort said. “Rather than survival mode, we are in growth mode. With (the ticket increase), we are trying to create revenue that makes us more competitive over a long period of time.”

My take? The Walton-Penners are an available resource, but they are not involved in the day-to-day operations of the team. While their investment in the Rockies paid down significant debt, it doesn’t solve all of the club’s issues to compete at a championship level. The Walton-Penners continue to remain bullish on their investment with no timeline for an increased role, for those asking (and they do everyday).

Multiple season-ticket holders sounded off on season-ticket deadlines, saying in the past they were required to begin 25% payments in December to receive the perk of 20 free tickets for certain games. A new six-month structure demanded the initial payment on Sept. 16 or half of the invoice paid by Nov. 19 to receive the comp tickets.

The September date comes before the collective bargaining agreement expires on Dec. 1, with current forecasts believing a lockout over a salary cap could lead to missed regular-season games and refunds potentially delayed.

So, you can see why some of the most loyal fans are annoyed.

Monfort agreed that investing in free agents could help soothe the frustration with the ticket price increase more than any email.

“We didn’t feel like this was going to be like flipping a switch to turn where we were in 2025 to the playoffs in 2026. We want to try and capitalize on the progress we made, and the way the season ended — (8-30 and an active 29-game streak without a starting pitcher posting a win) — has provided a clear road map at what we need to fix,” Monfort said. “Paul and I met earlier this week. We will be finalizing the budget. But it should give us more flexibility than we had in 2026.”

The reality is that the Rockies must prove that they are not satisfied with an uptick in their hitting — their WAR jumped from -0.3 to 8.5, including top-five finishes in multiple categories, most notably with a .322 on-base percentage, the highest since 2018.

They must dramatically improve their defense and show they are willing to write an extra check to land a free agent or acquire pitching help through a trade.

“We share the same goals as the fans. We definitely make note of how they feel,” Monfort said. “In the end (the ticket price increase) decision was made to make the Rockies better. We feel like we have put a lot of right people in place, and hopefully we reward the fans by turning this around in a much quicker fashion. It is on us to give them a reason to believe in what we are doing.”

A new front office brought Colorado from dial-up connections to fiber optics, incorporated analytics and took successful swings on afterthoughts Jake McCarthy and TJ Rumfield.

But overcoming four straight years of loyalty to stunning incompetence is proving difficult.

And the Rockies sticking with manager Warren Schaeffer in the wake of this awful finish — 7-28 over the last six weeks — is not helping convince fans of a brighter future.

“It is a leadership job. He is a very good leader. He has a real ability to connect with players, push them and hold them to a high standard,” general manager Josh Byrnes told the Post Thursday. “We know we have to get a lot better to field a winning team. And he is as determined as anyone to help us get there.”

Rockies fans deserve a better product. The franchise has not earned their trust or patience, not after losing 100 games for the fourth straight season, an indignity last accomplished by the 1962-65 New York Mets.

There has been legitimate improvement.

The problem is that nobody wants to hear it.

Not on a day when the Rockies trailed 6-0 without recording an out. Not on a day when a massive home run came off the bat of Arizona’s Nolan Arenado, whose trade before the 2021 season turned many Colorado fans against owner Dick Monfort forever, regardless of Monfort’s long-overdue decision to promote son Walker and allow him to hire president Paul DePodesta and Byrnes.

The Rockies’ record is terrible, 57-102. But they are on a better trajectory. Seriously.

The 2025 Rockies team, by most metrics, was the worst in major league history. DePodesta and Byrnes were charged with turning around the Titanic in a bathtub.

It is going to take time, creativity and luck.

Any serious evaluation of this front office is not fair until after the 2028 season, when DePodesta and Byrnes have logged three drafts, gone through multiple free agencies and been given a gestation period for their seismic changes to hitting and still-evolving pitching philosophies.

“Generally, I think we are making progress, but we have a long way to go,” Byrnes said. “The last 40 games have been frustrating for a lot of reasons. We expected better. The 100 losses means something. The optics mean something. We wanted to get out of that zone for a lot of reasons, and we didn’t.”

The stench is less odiferous. But its presence remains unmistakable.

Some things worked. The Rockies’ strikeouts dropped, the swing-and-miss percentage improved and walks increased as players like Roldy Brito and Cristian Arguelles demonstrated proof of concept in the minors and Rumfield, McCarthy and Cole Carrigg executed the strategy in the majors.

With three road games remaining in Chicago against the White Sox, the Rockies have won 14 more games than in 2025.

The combined WAR — wins above replacement value — of the top 12 position players increased from 0.7 to 7.7 year over year, per Baseball Reference.

And the run differential has gone from 424, worst in modern MLB history, to 188 this season. Trades for pitchers have shown promise with the acquisitions of Mason Adams, Nick Fasso and Mark Manfredi.

Still, when the Rockies left the field Thursday, they trudged off bearing more than a loss, but a stain. Starting pitching, in so many ways, ruined everything, a script for decades ingrained into Rockies’ history.

A member of the rotation has not posted a victory since Aug. 26, going 0-13.

The Rockies’ starters were among baseball’s best in the first month, then top prospect Chase Dollander and Jose Quintana suffered injuries, and the group never recovered.

The Rockies emphasized the importance of starters using a wide arsenal of pitches not only to get ahead in the count but also to stay ahead.

“I don’t think we made as much progress as we would have liked,” Byrnes said.

There is no quick fix for a team that has some money to spend this offseason, but almost never attracts top pitching free agents for obvious reasons (see altitude). The Rockies need more talent, but the farm system is lacking, meaning trades, waiver claims and all permutations for eating a season’s worth of 1,400 innings are on the table.

Could they lean on openers? What about using starters for four innings and employing piggyback relievers to throw multiple innings?

“We are open-minded and know that we don’t have the answers,” Byrnes said. “We are exploring everything from usage and deployment. We want to minimize the starter facing a lineup a third time. But that puts more innings on the bullpen. How many 80-inning relievers can we find and how often can you ask them to take on that extra workload?”

The best way could be using three or four starters and an army of relievers. But that requires arms with minor-league options who can be ferried between Triple-A Albuquerque and Denver.

Without a seismic upgrade in the rotation, the Rockies are accepting failure moving forward. For too many days, they chased a deficit, which muted their aggressive base running and allowed pitchers to attack them without fearing consequences.

Against the Diamondbacks, they were outscored 15-1 in the first two innings of the series, leaving the season margin at 262-146.

Of all the things that went wrong for the Rockies, starting pitching went the most wrong, fueling a 10-game home losing streak. The Rockies finished 32-49 at Coors Field. To post their first winning season since 2020, that number must be realistically reversed.

In its first year, the front office did something its predecessors never did. The Rockies made trades, took chances and embraced technology so they no longer look like “The Flintstones” with flip phones.

And yet, the Rockies deserve all the criticism they get. They must continue pursuing answers, even as fans hope that a work stoppage and new collective bargaining agreement this spring will eventually lead to Greg Penner and Carrie Walton Penner taking over as majority owners.

“There is a silver lining to these last 40 days. There is real frustration that we haven’t won more games, because we lost so many late, and lost so many close games. It is good that expectation exists,” Byrnes said. “But this season has also been a reminder that we have a long way to go to climb out of this.”

But if someone’s willing to hand him stupid money, some crazy return, for those sexy wheels? Here’s the keys, brother. Go nuts.

“I really like my car. I’m not looking to sell my car,” told me by phone Friday. “But if someone came up to me and said, ‘Man, I sure like your car, I’ll give you $60K for it,’ for some reason, I might do that. But I’m not looking to do it.”

If a contender is from their farm system for Goodman, the Rockies catcher who’s hit more home runs before the All-Star break (27) than any Colorado player since Larry Walker in 2001, then heck yes, you bite. You’d be nuts not to.

The problem? Szymborski says he can’t see any franchise, including the oft-discussed Yankees, that would be willing to meet that asking price for the sweetest ride on 20th & Bleak.

“Teams hang on to top-top prospects a lot more greedily than they used to,” Szymborski continued. “Although Hunter Goodman is really good, you’re not going to get two top-60 guys. (If you could), you do it.”

Goodman’s 26. and is reportedly under team control through 2029. He’s on pace to hit 50 jacks while paradoxically doing most of his damage (18 of 27 homers) away from Coors Field.

“I think (Goodman’s) bat will play anywhere,” “(But) I don’t think he’s going to be a guy that’s going to hit 40 home runs somewhere else. It may be that this is as good as it gets. This may be his peak. If somebody bowls you over with an offer, I think you take it. If not, I think you wait to do this at a time where a team is desperate enough to where you can really make it work for your organization.”

at minus-2 heading into the weekend, while T as a plus-2 through 484 2/3 innings behind the plate. So that’s a wash — a playable, decent glove with an All-Star bat. A bargain who won’t turn 30 until October 2029.

The Rox still may not be any darned good by then, which is the No. 1 argument for dealing Goodman now. But that’s also why the new(ish) braintrust of Walker Monfort, Paul DePodesta and Josh Byrnes can afford to be choosy. Goodman’s the fattest goose they can take to market. If they shoot, they can’t afford to miss.

“I think I would actually be inclined to hang on to him,” Szymborski noted. “The Rockies could get a lot of value for him, but this is a team that’s finally getting the idea that they need to throw stuff at the wall and see what sticks. I think they could actually come together as a decent team in a few years.

“There’s still a lot of things to like. So it’s not necessarily a good time to trade (him). Also, catcher is a deep position around the league. So I would probably hang onto him. I would see the case for trading him, too, but he’s not going to bring back a superstar return.

“The problem is that The (Jeff) Bridich Era put the team in such a hole where they have little MLB talent and very little MILB talent. It’s hard to build from nothing.”

Which is why you can’t swap him for nothing, either. It’s easy to look at the suddenly-contending White Sox, who were somehow worse in ’24 (121 losses) than the Rockies were in ’25 (119 losses), and get stars in your eyes. Yet there are some significant circumstantial differences between the Pale Hose revival, the best story in baseball, and rebuilding purple pinstripes into a power again.

For one, the South Siders play in MLB’s version of the NFC South — and shock injuries to Detroit ace Tarik Skubal and to what feels like 70% of the Royals’ roster suddenly threw a crapola division into wide-open chaos. For another, after the Yankees and Rays, the American League this year is hot garbage compared to the Senior Circuit. For yet another, the White Sox microwaved themselves off the mat by dealing young, front-line starting pitching (Dylan Cease, Lucas Giolito), with the Garrett Crochet-to-Boston haul somehow bringing back three solid starting bats into the ChiSox’s current lineup.

The Rockies don’t have anywhere near that level of cost-effective surplus of arms at present. And while the conversion of Antonio Senzatela from failed starter to late-inning weapon has been a revelation, set-up men typically don’t bring back much on the trade market.

Outfielder Mickey Moniak could help a lot of going-for-it clubs in need of a lefty bat, but he also went into this past Friday hitting .219 with a .689 OPS outside of Coors. Which means, whatever your buddy thinks the Rox would get for Mick The Stick, take away a prospect from that package, or drop said prospect down a minor-league class.

In the meantime, arguments for keeping Goodman now keep whispering like angels from the opposite shoulder. Even with a livelier ball and a three-outcome approach, 40-home-run catchers are rarer than the Wagyu at A5 Steakhouse. What kind of message are you sending to the clubhouse if you’re flipping a two-time All-Star in his prime? What kind of message are you sending to a fan base that’s been beaten down and conditioned to expect the worst?

“I think it’s dangerous asking your fan base to be even more cynical than it already is by trading a guy away at the point where he’s suddenly of value to other teams,” Jaffe said. “But I think you always have to be listening.

“If someone offers you the next Paul Skenes, I think you make that (trade). Always. But I don’t think anybody’s going to be offering that. They’re going to be trying to convince you that getting two A-ball prospects and a grab-bag catcher is going to be enough of a return.”

It isn’t. The Rockies have gone down this road recently at least twice before and whiffed on both occasions. The Nolan Arenado Giveaway of 2021 will go down as the nadir of franchise history and the worst deal in Denver that didn’t involve Russell Wilson. In July 2015, Colorado landed Jeff Hoffman, Jose Reyes, Miguel Castro and Jesus Tinoco for Troy Tulowitzki and LaTroy Hawkins, and again, the kids that came back amounted to bupkis.

Don’t settle. Set the bar high. Yankees farmhands Dax Kilby and Elmer Rodriguez would look awfully good in purple. But if the Bronx Bombers aren’t willing to go that far, close the briefcase, pack it up and move on to a suitor who’s serious. Or more desperate.

“Everybody has a price,” Szymborski said.

And you don’t move Goodman until a contender is hungry enough to meet yours. Not while the Mazda’s got that many miles left in the tank.

I said I was encouraged by the changes to the Rockies’ front office and excited to see the team’s rebuild. However, I added that the upcoming labor war would stall the Rockies’ reconstruction project.  A lengthy and ugly lockout was all but certain. A full 2027 season was in jeopardy, I said.

The muckety muck said I was overreacting.

“This is different than the last lockout,” he said. “We were coming off the 2020 pandemic then, and I think the lockout kind of snuck up on people. I think it’s a good sign that both sides have been talking publicly about this. It’s more out in the open.”

I was skeptical when he said it then. I’m even more skeptical now after reading the rhetoric thrown into the public arena this week.

The Ultimately, MLB and the MLB Players Association agreed to a new CBA on March 10, salvaging the 162-game season. However, the start of the season was delayed by eight days.

This lockout could be much longer and a lot worse.

On Wednesday, the MLBPA made its proposal for a new collective bargaining agreement public. On Thursday, MLB presented its 200-page proposal, which included its first official salary cap proposal since 1994.

The union’s response was swift, predictable, and unyielding.

“(Wednesday), the MLBPA presented a comprehensive package of proposals designed to improve compensation for players at all levels, and to incentivize and reward competition on the field,” interim union chief Bruce Meyer said in a statement. “The owners responded today with a demand for a salary cap system, something generations of players have fought against. The last time the owners made such an explicit push for a cap — over 30 years ago — it led to the longest work stoppage in MLB history.

“For generations, our members have fought against cap systems because they harm players at all levels, erode or eliminate contractual guarantees, pit player against player, lead to more work stoppages, not less, and get worse for players over time.”

In other words, MLB’s proposal was a non-starter.

Under MLB’s proposal, each team would need to maintain a payroll between $171.2 million and $245.3 million, starting in 2027. There would be a 50-50 split of revenues.

“The biggest issue we need to solve next to continue to grow the game off the field is fixing the payroll disparity unseen in any other major U.S. sport,” MLB spokesperson Glen Caplin said in a statement. “Ultimately, the game is about hope and competition and too many fans in too many markets have too little hope their team has a fair chance to win.

“Fans overwhelmingly support a salary cap and floor like in the other leagues because they don’t believe a $446 million spending gap from top to bottom is a fair fight. Our salary cap and floor proposal levels the playing field while sharing baseball revenue with the players 50/50 as we grow the game together.”

The players aren’t buying it.

“Baseball is experiencing unprecedented momentum and owners are enjoying record viewership, revenues and franchise values,” Meyer’s statement said. “Billionaire owners are not seeking to cap their profits or asset values, only player salaries.

“This isn’t out of generosity or a desire to protect the game’s well-being. It����ap a play to control costs, increase profits and maximize franchise values — all at the expense of players past, present and future. We’ll continue our review of the owners’ proposal and stand ready to negotiate system improvements that benefit players and fans alike.”

The only shared sentiment from either side is that they are seeking a new CBA that will “benefit the fans.”

That’s laughable. Volleyballing the fans back and forth in negotiations has nothing to do with the labor war. This is about money and power. The fans are an afterthought.

A fundamental part of MLB’s proposal is a change to local media revenues. As the sport would centralize TV revenue, a major change commissioner Rob Manfred has sought. That means the big-market teams with the largest television contracts, such as the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs, are willing to share their TV money — a trade-off in exchange for the other benefits they’d reap in a cap system.

Writes Drellich: “It����ap a change that owners probably would never be willing to make outside of a cap system.”

The key point in the latest labor battle is that MLB wants to change the system by implementing a hard cap. The MLBPA does not.

It’s important to remember that MLB remains the only major North American professional sports league without a cap-and-floor system. The owners argue that the players — especially the wealthiest, along with their powerful agents — will have to bend and reconsider their position on a cap.

put it this way: “The league is positioning its salary cap stance as the panacea to competitive balance issues. Regardless of some small-market, low-revenue teams’ ability to construct some of the best teams in baseball — the Tampa Bay Rays, Milwaukee Brewers and Cleveland Guardians are perennial winners under the current system — large-market, big-payroll teams have won the past 10 World Series.

“Combine that with the dominance of the Los Angeles Dodgers and league polling that shows fans want a cap-and-floor system like the NFL, NBA and NHL, and it has emboldened the league to pursue change, even if the union regards a salary cap as a declaration of war.”

That sounds ominous.

The last time baseball owners proposed a firm cap, in 1994, it prompted a 7½-month strike that forced the cancellation of the World Series for the first time in 90 years. MLB eventually withdrew the cap proposal after pressure from the National Labor Relations Board. Still, the damage was done.

On the field and in the public consciousness, baseball is in a good place. Changes — the pitch clock and ABS, in particular — have made the game more enjoyable. The level of play has never been better.

But if games are wiped out in 2027, the fallout could be worse than in 1994. There are a lot more entertainment options now than there were three decades ago. This time around, baseball fans might not forgive, and they might forget to come back.

So let’s get to a few of them:

• Will Broncos owners Greg and Carrie Walton Penner, the husband and wife team that form the Penner Sports Group, eventually become the controlling owners of the Rockies?

Such a deal is not imminent, but it wouldn’t shock me if it eventually happens. I’ve had a source close to the situation tell me there is no timetable for that to occur, but the source also told me it could very well happen down the line.

• Did Paul DePodesta, the Rockies’ new president of baseball operations, know about the deal when he left the Cleveland Browns to join the Rockies in November? Was he aware that the Penners were planning on buying a 40% ownership stake in the Rockies?

I’m told that DePodesta did not know that a deal was coming, meaning that his oft-quoted statement, “I’m a sucker for a challenge,” still rings true.

• Will Dick Monfort’s role as the owner of the Rockies change?

The short answer is no. He already backed away from his day-to-day involvement in the team when Walker Monfort, his oldest son, became team president. As Walker Monfort told me shortly before the season opened, “I’m more responsible for day-to-day than I have ever been, but I would say my dad is still the ultimate shot-caller, so to speak.”

• Will the Penners reduce their involvement with the Broncos and become hands-on owners at 20th and Blake?

Nope. As Denver Post Broncos beat writer Parker Gabriel put it: “The Penners are not going anywhere with the Broncos and the NFL. They will not have day-to-day roles with the Rockies, sources told The Post, and they are plenty busy with football.”

• The infusion of an estimated $672 million from the Penner Sports Group allows the Rockies to retire all of their outstanding debt. That provides additional capital that, theoretically, could be spent to increase player payroll. So, will the Rockies go on a spending spree this season? Or in the 2026-27 offseason?

That’s highly doubtful, for a couple of reasons. First, the team is still on the bottom floor of its rebuild and still assessing its talent level.

Second, even though the Rockies are playing better baseball than they did last season (how could they not?), it wouldn’t surprise me if the Rockies flirt with another 100-loss season. Spending big bucks now doesn’t make sense.

Third, and most important, it’s highly likely that Major League Baseball owners will shut down business with a lockout when the current collective bargaining expires in December. That’s going to complicate things and cool down any hot stove action.

• Will Dick Monfort abandon his quest for a salary cap and a more equitable financial landscape across MLB?

That’s a tongue-in-cheek question. I raise it because the Twittersphere has been filled with smart-aleck fans tweeting that the “suddenly wealthy” Rockies can now compete with the big boys. That’s not the case.

Plus, Monfort has a close relationship with baseball commissioner Rob Manfred and plans to be heavily involved in labor negotiations between MLB and the MLBPA. Monfort believes that baseball’s economic system is broken, and he wants to help fix it.

• The Dodgers, Yankees and Cubs all have their own lucrative television networks. Could the Rockies, eventually, do something similar?

This is pure speculation on my part, but it wouldn’t surprise me if, somewhere down the line, that happens, especially if the Penner Sports Group ever gains controlling interest in the Rockies.

• How can Broncos ownership invest in the Rockies when they already have a stake in the Arizona Diamondbacks?

This was also out in the Twittersphere. Here’s the deal: Last month, part of the Walton-Penner Family Ownership Group that owns the Broncos, also has a 10% share of the D-backs. However, Greg and Carrie Walton Penner do not have a stake in the D-backs, thus allowing them to buy into the Rockies.

• Will the new ownership dynamic allow the Rockies to find a resolution to Kris Bryant’s contract situation?

It certainly appears that Bryant will never play baseball again because of lumbar degenerative disc disease. But, counting this season, he’s still owed $81 million through the 2028 season. One way or another, Bryant will get his guaranteed money. Can the Rockies work out a deal where Bryant would defer some of those millions of dollars? It’s possible, but I don’t think the infusion of the Penner’s money changes anything.

After two decades of operating the Rockies as a mom-and-pop grocery store, it was time for owner Dick Monfort to bring in Walmart as a partner.

In what amounts to a home run for baseball fans in this state and region, Monfort has agreed to sell a 40 % minority stake in the Rockies to the Penner Sports Group, composed of Broncos’ co-owners Greg Penner and Carrie Walton Penner.

With a roughly $672 million investment based on Forbes’ most recent $1.68 billion valuation, the Penners will provide funds to pay down debt and financial resources that give Monfort runway to determine his future vision for the franchise as a labor stoppage looms following this season.

For Monfort, it was past time in the national pastime to treat the Rockies as a civic institution. By bringing on the Penners, he shifts the conversation about his ownership from selfish to selfless. At last.

It is wise, if not belated, recognition that family-run sports teams are becoming archaic and lack the wherewithal to consistently chase championships.

Monfort has groused in recent years, including in an interview with The Post before the 2024 season, about Major League Baseball’s lack of a salary cap. The concern about competing became amplified with regional sports networks dissolving, siphoning a source of revenue for a Rockies team that is already heavily dependent on attendance.

In the most recent homestand, the Rockies posted their smallest crowds in Coors Field history.

But lost in that nadir is that Monfort finally realized in October that significant changes were needed.

His decision to promote son Walker Monfort to vice president and give him freedom to hire baseball president Paul DePodesta, general manager Josh Byrnes and a battery of new business people was the clearest signal that he understood how dormant the team had become after seven consecutive losing seasons.

Until Friday.

This is a seismic event. A grand slam for Rockies fans.

By bringing the Penners on board, it creates a pathway for the Rockies to become relevant.

In 34 seasons, the Rockies have managed only five playoff berths, never won a National League West title and appeared in one World Series in 2007, swept by the Boston Red Sox in a buzzkill end to the most magical run in baseball history.

The obvious question: Why wouldn’t Dick Monfort simply sell the team?

This is something understandably frustrated fans have been chirping about for years.

It was not time for that. On multiple levels. Could that change down the road? Perhaps.

But starting with conversations a year ago, the Penners were motivated to get involved rather than take over. This is not a palace coup. It is a partnership. But it is also one (heck) of a safety net.

The new partnership continues momentum for Monfort, which has been evident on the field with the team’s 6-7 record after starting last season 7-33 en route to losing 100 games for a third consecutive season.

And it gives the Penners an opportunity to become financially tethered without dealing with the minutiae of running another team.

Can we pause for a second and acknowledge the commitment to sports and this community the Penners have shown since the summer of 2022?

As they enter their fifth year owning the Broncos, they have built a $175 million team headquarters, moved forward on a privately-financed new stadium for billions of dollars, created a $12 million initiative to donate over 15,000 helmets to high school football teams and and turned the franchise from a laughingstock to a Super Bowl contender by hiring Sean Payton and signing players to in-house contract extensions for more than $400 million over the last 18 months.

To Colorado sports fans, it’s worth even more.

The Penners have shown at every turn that they are amazing stewards, setting a standard for excellence in everything from how their players travel and eat to how they increase alumni involvement.

Before you ask, their roles with the Broncos will not change. Owning the team has exceeded their expectations in how fulfilling, challenging and rewarding it has been. They will still attend practice a few days a week and mingle at the facility.

The Rockies, make no mistake, piqued their interest as a business investment.

Like many who have lived here, they recognize that baseball is a sleeping giant, a potential No. 2 sport in Colorado if Rocktober returns semi-annually. Coors Field, despite being the third-oldest ballpark in the National League, remains a destination spot with its timeless appeal and charm.

Fans have shown they will come if the team is good. It just takes several flips back in the calendar to remember when that was.

Overall, baseball is on the right track, benefiting from the pitch clock, eliminating shifts and creating the Automated Ball-Strike Challenge System.

The Penners obviously saw this.

For the Rockies, for Monfort, this move makes sense.

Just look at all the Penners have done, how deep their pockets are, and how much they commit to ventures. They are unbelievably curious people who look for answers, never satisfied with the status quo or mediocrity.

They will learn baseball just as they did the NFL. There is no reason to think they cannot help make the Rockies better.

Everyone will wonder if they will eventually buy the team. That is for a later day and could hinge on the outcome of the labor talks, in which Monfort serves as a hawk in the negotiations for commissioner Rob Manfred.

Since back-to-back playoff berths in 2017 and 2018, the Rockies have nosedived, bottoming out with 119 losses last season.

By bringing in the Penners, Monfort is letting the respected neighbors down the street spruce up the place. Their money matters. But more than that, it provides hope for the future.

And for this city, this state and the fans, that is priceless.

Rockies chairman and CEO Dick Monfort and owner/general partner Charlie Monfort announced the move on Friday.

The addition of the Penner Sports Group, which owns a controlling interest in the Denver Broncos, will have a major impact on Colorado’s Major League Baseball franchise. Sources told The Denver Post that the Penners are purchasing a 40% share of the Rockies.

Greg Penner will remain CEO of the Broncos, and fellow primary owner Carrie Penner, his wife, will continue in her various roles with the team. The Penners will have no day-to-day involvement running the Rockies, a source said.

“We are excited to expand our commitment to the Denver sports community through a minority partnership with the Colorado Rockies,” the Penners said in a prepared statement. “This investment from Penner Sports Group reflects our deep appreciation for what the Rockies mean to this region, the passion of their fans and our confidence in the future of the franchise.”

According to Forbes, the Rockies are valued at $1.68 billion, ranking 25th among Major League Baseball’s 30 teams. The Penners’ investment equals about $672 million, and MLB has formally approved the deal.

According to the Rockies, the Penners’ investment allows the franchise to retire all outstanding debt and provides additional capital for the team.

The financial changes could help the Rockies become a bigger player in baseball’s current, uneven financial landscape, in which big-market teams like the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, and New York Yankees greatly outspend mid-market teams like the Rockies.

The Mets currently have a 40-man roster payroll of $357.2 million, the largest in MLB, The Dodgers ($322.6 million) and Yankees ($298.3 million), rank second and third. The Rockies ($120.5 million) are ranked 21st.

Renck: Rockies hit a home run for Colorado fans by bringing in Broncos owners

A source familiar with the deal told The Post that the Penners' 40% stake comes from a combination of existing partners and new equity. The Denver Post, a longtime minority owner with the Rockies, was the only shareholder to sell its entire stake.

Dick Monfort will continue in his role as chairman and CEO, Charlie Monfort will remain in his role, and Walker Monfort (Dick's son) will remain as the club’s president, running day-to-day operations.

“Speaking personally, on behalf of Charlie and our family, our other partners and the organization, we’re excited to welcome Greg and Carrie Penner into the Colorado Rockies ownership group," Dick Monfort said in a statement. "I’ve had the pleasure to build a strong relationship with Greg and Carrie over the past few years. For many reasons, including their recent success with the Broncos, we know we are gaining much more than just financial support in this partnership with Penner Sports Group.

"Greg and Carrie have proven that they share the same passion for our region and a strong commitment to compete at the highest level. We are thrilled to add them to the Colorado Rockies’ ownership group as we best position this franchise for long-term sustained success."

Negotiations between the Monforts and Penner have been ongoing for months, sources told The Post.

For long-suffering fans, relief

Rockies fans were excited by the news.

Phillip B. Foster II, whose family has held Rockies season tickets since the club's inception in 1993 and still attends about 30 Rockies games a season, said it was past time for changes.

"I think the best way to say it is that I feel a sigh of relief," said the 45-year-old Foster, a Denver resident who was a former bat boy for the minor league Denver Zephyrs. "I think this gives me, and other fans, a reason to want to keep going to games at Coors Field."

Loveland's Rece Lampe, 27, attended the Rockies' home opener this year and usually attends between seven and 10 games a season. He said it was time for a change.

"My initial response as a fan is very positive," he said. "This team needs some new direction and new blood, because of their lack of success over the past years.

"Getting a 40% stake from an ownership group that clearly wants to win, like the Broncos do, shows me that the Rockies are trying to change the vibe."

A major investment in Mile High baseball

The Rockies have endured seven consecutive losing seasons and have lost 100 or more games in each of the last three seasons. Last year, the club lost 119 games, tied with the 2003 Detroit Tigers for the third-most in a single season since 1901, ahead of the 2024 Chicago White Sox (41-121) and the 1962 New York Mets (40-120).

On Wednesday, the Rockies beat Houston for their fourth consecutive victory. However, the announced crowd at Coors Field was 15,189, marking the lowest home attendance in franchise history, excluding pandemic-affected seasons. The previous low crowd came on Monday night, with an announced crowd of 16,301.

The Walton-Penner Family Ownership Group, led by Greg Penner, Carrie Walton Penner, and Rob Walton, purchased the Broncos for $4.65 billion in August 2022. The Broncos are in the early in the process, but knee deep on the way to building a new stadium and entertainment complex at Burnham Yard.

"Our family’s had such a positive experience with the Broncos, reinforcing our interest in partnering with another team in this dynamic sports market," the Penners said. "We’ve enjoyed getting to know the Monforts and are grateful to join Dick and Charlie in the Rockies’ ownership group along with the other partners.

“While our focus remains firmly on the Broncos, we look forward to being supportive, long-term partners of the Rockies and Major League Baseball."

Dick and Charlie Monfort became the Rockies' majority owners in 2005. Forbes first valued the Rockies in 1998, just five years after their inception, at $303 million. Since then, the club has appreciated by more than 450%.

Denver Post Broncos beat writer Parker Gabriel contributed to this story.

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.”

If my informal eight-man panel is correct, the Rockies will join Gil Hodges, Don Lock, and Claude Osteen in an infamous chapter in major league history. Hodges was the manager, Lock was the best hitter, and Osteen was the best pitcher for the 1964 Washington Senators. losing 100 or more games for the fourth consecutive season.

No major league team has done that since. But the 2026 Rockies will, at least according to my panelists.  Add up their predictions, divide by eight, and you get a 59-103 record.

I’ll start. I’m encouraged by the long-overdue front-office shuffle led by new team president Walker Monfort. And I’m intrigued by young players like third baseman Kyle Karros and Charlie Condon. But the reality for this season is that the starting pitching is still too thin over the long haul, and the offense too punchless to improve by 20 games over their 119-loss 2025 season.

Saunders’ prediction: 60-102.

Sean Keeler, Denver Post columinst

The season highlight might well be those long-overdue statue unveilings for Todd Helton and Larry Walker. Beyond that? Meh. The best thing about 2026 for the Rox is also the worst: The record won’t mean much. It’s a free hit for Paul DePodesta and Josh Byrnes. A honeymoon year. A transition year. A throw-everything-at-the-wall-and-see-what-sticks year. It would be great to give a long-abused fan base some good vibes before Dick Monfort and his fellow Lords of the Realm torpedo 2027, but I wouldn’t count on it.

Keeler’s prediction: 62-100.

Kyle Newman, Denver Post sportswriter

The Fightin’ Rox will be better in 2026, but they are attempting to climb out of the abyss. This is going to take years to get competitive again, so book a fourth consecutive 100-loss season.

The starting pitching will be better, but the Rockies’ depth at that critical position remains thin. After an inevitable injury or two to starting pitchers, the season will unravel quickly. Also, the Rockies won’t hit for enough power once again, even though they’ll play better at home. Look for 2027 to be a true turning point year where Colorado can perhaps sniff a win total in the 70s.

Newman’s prediction: 60-102

Nate Peterson, Denver Post sports editor

Looking for a purple-and-silver lining for 2026, Rockies fans? Here it is: Colorado’s hard-luck MLB franchise will again be the worst team in baseball, but it will somehow, someway avoid the historical ignominy of four-straight 100-loss seasons.

No, Ted Lasso isn’t the skipper, but the arrival of Paul DePodesta, the addition of some crafty veterans on the mound and the development of young talent on the field will be enough to avoid the century mark for losses. The Rockies won’t be the 1962 Phillies, who improved by an MLB-best 34 wins. But they’ll be 20 wins better, which will feel like a miracle. 

Peterson’s prediction: 63-99

Troy Renck, Denver Post columnist

The Rockies will be terrible, but a light will replace an incoming train at the end of the tunnel. With a veteran starting rotation, improved health of shortstop Ezequiel Tovar and Brenton Doyle, and a versatile lineup that strikes out less, the Rockies will look like a major league team again. That is not meant as a backhanded compliment, but an indictment of the past regime. As the use of analytics and improved coaching takes hold as prospects develop, hope will return.

Renck’s prediction: 60-102

Jorge Castillo, ESPN baseball writer

Will they flirt with the wrong kind of history again?

Colorado finally hit the front-office reset button, hiring longtime executive Paul DePodesta as president of baseball operations to replace general manager Bill Schmidt to course-correct. … DePodesta didn’t overhaul the roster over the winter, instead signing four players to contracts of one or two years and making minor trades. The Rockies will look to avoid disaster.

Keith Law, national baseball writer, The Athletic

I have the Rockies finishing with the worst record in baseball again, but winning 11 more games, and I’m not sure how strongly I can even defend that other than to say that it����ap very hard to be 119-loss bad two years in a row. They do have new people calling the shots in the front office, including Paul “The Revenant” DePodesta, and I expect some gains on the margins, but they’re going to need more than an Ezequiel Tovar breakout to get back to even 60 wins this year.

Dan Szymborski, FanGraphs baseball writer

If another NL West team shocks the Dodgers, it won’t be wearing purple-and-black.