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.

The sports jockey blasted the Rockies’ decision to hire Weiss as their manager, essentially saying the Rockies made a minor league move by “hiring a high school coach.” I thought it was a ridiculous take, and I said so.

Last month, Weiss became the Braves’ manager after spending eight seasons as their bench coach under Brian Snitker, who led Atlanta to a World Series title in 2021.

I thought about all of that on Tuesday afternoon during Weiss’ media session at baseball’s winter meetings. Weiss, who played shortstop for 14 big league seasons, fielded questions with humor and aplomb.

An Atlanta reporter teased Weiss, asking, “As the only manager with cauliflower ear, are you going to be continuing your MMA training?”

Weiss grinned and quickly shot back: “I’m not winning any beauty contests, I know that.”

For the record, Weiss was, indeed, a high school coach for a time, stepping away from his job as a Rockies special assistant to spend more time with his family and coach his sons’ baseball and football teams at Regis Jesuit High School.

But his baseball pedigree is solid, even if he had four losing seasons managing Colorado from 2013-16 (283-365 record) and never made the playoffs. But people tend to forget that Weiss helped lay some of the groundwork for the team that manager Bud Black inherited in 2017 and took to the playoffs in back-to-back seasons.

“The record wasn’t great back then, obviously, but I’m proud of some of the things we accomplished in those four years — culturally, especially,” Weiss said Tuesday.  “A lot of great lessons learned.”

Bottom line: Weiss earned his chance to manage again and was ready for a second chance. Consider: As a player, Weiss’s first big league manager with the Athletics was Hall of Famer Tony La Russa, and his last was Hall of Famer Bobby Cox with the Braves. Weiss spent nine years learning the game from them.

Weiss, who owns a home in Parker and still calls Colorado his “home base,” said he’s much better prepared to manage now than he was 13 years ago.

“The circumstances couldn’t be more different from the first time I did this,” he said. “In Colorado, when I got hired, I’d been out of the game for four years. I was coaching high school football. I was out of baseball.

“I took the interview just to experience it. I had never done that. And I end up getting the job. I’m like, ‘Now what?’ ”

Plus, Weiss took over a team that had lost 98 games in 2012.

“There was a lot of on-the-job training, but we had a good staff in Colorado that helped me along the way,” he said. “But it was very different then. I didn’t even know what was important to me as a manager the first time around because I hadn’t done it.”

Weiss said his years as a bench coach in Atlanta helped prepare him for his new job.

“It’s so very different now — eight years as a bench coach with a team that is built to win now,” he said. “I know this team like the back of my hand. I walked into that first situation in Colorado completely blind. I wasn’t even in the game, let alone knowing our team.”

Atlanta should have a strong core in 2026, led by former MVP Ronald Acuna Jr, first baseman Matt Olson, third baseman Austin Riley, future star catcher Drake Baldwin and a rotation featuring Chris Sale, Spencer Strider and Spencer Schwellenbach. The Braves slumped to fourth place in the NL East in 2025, but expect to be a playoff team again in ’26.

Did Weiss think he’d get another shot to manage?

“I didn’t know, and I didn’t have to know,” he said. “I didn’t have to do this again. And I loved being ‘Snit’s’ bench coach. I loved being back in the Braves uniform. And I think it’s fairly well documented that I turned down some interviews over the last several years, because it was going to have to be really good to pull me away from what I was doing.”

Now the former “high school coach” gets his second chance.

Weiss, who turns 62 on Nov. 28, has been the Braves’ bench coach since 2018 and was on Snitker’s staff four years ago when they won the fourth championship in franchise history. Snitker also was an internal hire, coming from Triple-A Gwinnett in 2016, when he replaced Fredi González midseason and then got the full-time job the following year.

This is Weiss’ second major league managing job after going 283-365 in four seasons with the Colorado Rockies from 2013-16. They did not make the playoffs during that time.

Weiss got back into a dugout when the Braves hired him in ’18. It was a return to Atlanta, where he finished his playing career as a shortstop with the Braves from 1998-2000, including an All-Star Game appearance as a starter during that stint.

A native of Tuxedo, New York, Weiss played parts of 14 seasons with Oakland, Florida, Colorado and Atlanta from 1987-2000. He won the World Series as a player with the Athletics in ’89.

Weiss previously worked for the Braves as a special assistant to the general manager from 2002-08.

Snitker, 70, announced in early October that he would not be returning for an 11th year with the club. GM Alex Anthopoulos said at the time that he did not have a list of candidates but wanted to move quickly to make a hire.

Former Braves catcher David Ross said last month he was ready to manage again and that getting the job “would be amazing.” It was not clear how seriously, if at all, Ross was considered for the job before Weiss was hired.

Weiss and Anthopoulos are scheduled to hold a joint news conference at Truist Park on Tuesday.

With Weiss’s promotion, only San Diego and Colorado remain uncertain about their managerial spots heading into the offseason. Texas hired Skip Schumaker, Baltimore went with Craig Albernaz, San Francisco pulled Tony Vitello from the college ranks, the Angels picked Kurt Suzuki, Minnesota chose Derek Shelton and Washington selected Blake Butera.

In splitting a four-game series against the Dodgers, the Rockies snapped a 10-game losing streak against their Los Angeles bullies.

As happy as that made the Rockies’ interim manager, that wasn’t what left Schaeffer positively buoyant. Rather, it was seeing the offense Schaeffer envisioned produce more unselfish at-bats, fewer strikeouts and aggression on the basepaths.

Home runs are great, of course, but Schaeffer doesn’t view them as a be-all, end-all. He wants an offense that not only dominates at Coors Field, but also gives the Rockies a fighting chance on the road.

“I couldn’t care less about that, to be honest,” Schaeffer said when asked about his players’ home run swings after shortstop Ezequiel Tovar went deep in Monday night’s series-opening win. “I care about guys who put the ball in play on a highly consistent basis. That plays in this yard.”

In that game, Colorado beat L.A., 4-3, on rookie first baseman Warming Bernabel’s hard-hit, walk-off groundball single to center.

Two days later, the Rockies dominated the Dodgers, ripping off 16 hits and knocking superstar Shohei Ohtani out of the game after four innings en route to an 8-3 victory. In the fourth inning, the Rockies smacked five consecutive hits off Ohtani.

It was a distillation of the approach Schaeffer wants to see every night at 20th and Blake.

“We had a good plan against (Ohtani) and we executed our plan throughout the game,” he said. “He went soft a lot, and it seems like the boys didn’t spit on the balls outside the zone. We kept him in the zone.

“They took the ball the other way, took what was given to them. That’s been a huge key for us. Taking the ball the other way and not trying to yank everything like we were doing earlier in the year.”

Schaeffer’s future in Colorado is uncertain. While the Rockies (37-91 entering the weekend) are no longer tracking toward setting the record for most losses in a season, they will undoubtedly lose 100 games for a third straight year. There is no guarantee Schaeffer will return, especially if the Rockies shake up their front office.

Colorado’s starting pitching is a mess with a 6.60 ERA and a .317 batting average against. A cleanup looks far away. But Schaeffer’s Colorado blueprint is clear, and he sees the Milwaukee Brewers as his template. The Brewers, with the 23rd-highest payroll in the game, entered the weekend with a major league-best 80-48 record.

“I like the way the Brewers play the game,” Schaeffer said.

There’s a lot to like. The Brewers are among the leaders in average (.258, second), stolen bases (138, second), and on-base percentage (.332, third). Their 20.5% strikeout rate is the fifth-lowest, and their 3.48 walks per game ranks fourth.

The Rockies have had several identities over the years, most famously the Blake Street Bombers. The 1996 Bombers remain the only team in major league history to hit 200 or more home runs (221) and steal 200 or more bases (201) in the same season. The 2018 Rockies, the last team to make the playoffs, batted .256, hit 210 homers and stole 95 bases.

Walt Weiss, who played shortstop for the Rockies from 1994-97 and managed the club from 2013-16, likes Schaeffer’s vision, but notes that it’s not unique in Rockies history.

“My thought, when I managed there, was that I wanted to overwhelm teams at Coors Field,” said Weiss, who’s served as the Atlanta Braves’ bench coach since 2018. “I wanted to be a multi-dimensional offense, and I wanted to push the tempo all of the time.

“I tried to make Coors Field the biggest home-field advantage in baseball. I always said that. The Rockies need to capitalize on that.”

Hall of Fame outfielder Larry Walker, a member of the Blake Street Bombers, says the key for the Rockies must be developing hitters in the farm system.

“You just can’t go out and purchase or (spend) a ton of money on players, or trade off a lot, because then you are left dry,” Walker said last September when he was in Denver to celebrate Coors Field’s 30th anniversary. “So the farm system needs to be built up a little bit to have that pool of young players that you can call up.

“I think, perhaps, they are running a little bit thin right now in that department. That����ap a process that����ap got to start. It doesn’t happen over a couple of years. It����ap going to take some time.”

Of course, now the question becomes, do the Rockies keep loading up on big, strong power hitters like first baseman Michael Toglia — a first-round pick in 2019 who was demoted to Triple-A Albuquerque because of his exorbitant 38.3% strikeout rate? Or like Charlie Condon, who’s slashing .258/.370/.469 with six homers in 36 games since his promotion to Double-A Hartford?

Or will the Rockies buy into Schaeffer’s vision of drafting and developing faster, athletic, put-the-ball-in-play players?

“A lot of how you play is based on your personnel, of course,” Weiss said. “You can’t put a square peg in a round hole, so you have to have the right personnel to play the type of game that the Brewers do.”

Dan O’Dowd, Colorado’s general manager from September 1999 through the 2014 season, says the Rockies need to find the right combination of on-base guys and power hitters.

“Very simply, they have to have guys that can hit and hit with at least average power at every position on the field, with a few aircraft carriers mixed in that can absolutely mash,” said O’Dowd, an analyst for MLB Network. “We were the Brewers in 2000, and a lack of power got us.”

The 2000 Rockies finished 82-80, and their non-pitchers hit .304. But Hall of Fame first baseman Todd Helton was the only real masher on the team. Helton hit 42 homers, while right fielder Jeffery Hammond was a distant second with 20.

Earlier this season, the Rockies were a disaster, and their offense had no identity, save for its ability to pile up strikeouts.

Through their first 18 games, they hit .209, led majors with a 29.6 strikeout percentage, ranked 27th with a 7.3 walk percentage, and were tied for 29th with 12 home runs. During a three-game series at San Diego from April 11-13, they were shut out in three consecutive games for the first time in franchise history. Colorado managed just nine hits (12 baserunners), the fewest in any three-game series.

Last season, the Rockies struck out a team record 1,617 times, the most in franchise history and the third-most in major league history. Clint Hurdle made it a priority to cut down on the Ks when he was brought back into the fold in April.

“It can’t be an elephant in the room that we aren’t going to talk about,” Hurdle said early this season. He was named the hitting coach after the team fired Hensley Meulens three weeks into the season, and then became the bench coach when Bud Black was fired and replaced by Schaeffer.

“Bottom line, I don’t think there is enough angst in the game about striking out,” Hurdle said. “I see it in our men, as a group. If you punch out 12 times in a game, you have watched the pitcher and catcher play catch in front of your dugout for four innings. Now you’re asking yourself to beat the other team with five innings of offensive baseball.”

The Rockies have improved their approach, albeit slowly. By the All-Star break, the team was slashing .230/.291/.378 with a 26.5% strikeout rate. Still bad, but better. Moreover, players started buying into Hurdle’s preaching and Schaeffer’s preferred style of play.

“When the second half came, we had a meeting and we said, ‘Hey, let’s flush the first half,’ ” said outfielder and leadoff hitter Tyler Freeman. “We said, ‘We’re not going to give at-bats away. The record may not show it yet, but we’re getting better, we’re really getting gritty.’ ”

Since the All-Star break, Colorado slashed .273/.320/.451 with a 21.5% K rate going into a weekend series at Pittsburgh. Schaeffer said the drop in strikeouts is the result of personnel changes and a better approach at the plate.

“It’s a combination of both,” he said. “Because we have certain guys up here now. You have (rookie) Kyle Karros at third and Bernable at first, and both of their biggest strengths are putting the ball in play. And they are replacing ‘Mac’ (Ryan McMahon traded to the Yankees), who’s a great player but a high strikeout guy (31.0%), and Toglia, who’s a high strikeout guy. Naturally, those strikeout rates are going to go down.

“But, yes, our approach has gotten better. It’s a testament to the work of our hitting coaches (Jordan Pacheco and Nic Wilson). The boys love working together with those guys. When there is a good collaboration going on, the sky’s the limit.”

Freeman is Schaeffer’s philosophy personified. He entered the weekend hitting .297 with a .372 on-base percentage. True, he’d hit just two homers, but his strikeout rate was a minuscule 9.6%.

Last year with Cleveland, he moved to center field but batted .209 in 118 games in a season shortened by a left oblique injury. He was in line for the Guardians’ starting second base job before the Rockies acquired him for outfielder Nolan Jones in spring training.

“My mentality coming into this year was getting back to who I am,” he said, admitting that he’d previously fallen into the trap of swinging for the fences. “I wanted to concentrate on doing the smaller things — bunting, stealing bases, little things like that, not worrying about the long ball. Coming over here with a fresh start was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. I found myself again.”

Freeman won’t have the All-Star impact that Charlie Blackmon did in 2017 when Blackmon won a batting title with a .331 average, 37 homers and 14 triples, mainly from the leadoff spot. But Schaeffer believes Freeman is the type of player the Rockies need to set the table.

“I love the way Tyler Freeman plays baseball,” Schaeffer said. “I love the way he puts the ball in play and battles, and uses the big part of Coors. There’s a lot of space out there for balls to drop in and go first to third. He plays that game well. He runs well.”

Schaeffer understands that in-the-gap triples, bloop doubles and soft singles are part of baseball in LoDo. He just wants to do it better than the opposition.

“You see it all the time here,” he said. “Our pitchers give up those hits because other teams put the ball in play. That’s what we need to do in our own ballpark — only better than the other guys. And, I think a big bonus for us is that that style plays on the road.”

When Schaeffer replaced Black on May 11, he already had his vision in mind.

“Since Day 1, since I stepped into this job, that����ap one of the things I’ve been preaching,” Schaeffer said. “For me, you just have to keep preaching it, and then see some good results on the field.

“It����ap part of our game now, and we can beat teams and score runs in different ways now, as opposed to just going station to station and trying to hit a home run. That����ap tough to do at this level.”

Turning it around

The Rockies began the season with the worst offense in the majors. Since then, the team has steadily increased its output. Following is a month-by-month look at the Rockies’ offense:

* Statistics through Aug. 21.

Schaeffer: Colorado’s third base and infield coach for three seasons, Schaeffer previously managed the Triple-A Isotopes before landing with the Rockies. A former minor league player in the Rockies system, the 40-year-old has the energy and perspective to possibly lead a rebuild. He’ll get the rest of the season to show what he’s got.

Clint Hurdle: Hurdle is 1,269-1,345 in 17 seasons as a manager, eight for the Rockies and nine for the Pirates. He helmed four playoff teams, most notably Colorado’s 2007 World Series run. He was promoted to hitting coach in April. A return to the manager’s office feels unlikely given he was just named the bench coach, but Colorado could do worse.

Joe Girardi: A 15-year big-leaguer who played for Colorado from 1993 to ’95, Girardi is now a broadcaster for YES Network. He managed the Marlins in 2006, the Yankees from 2008 to 2017 and the Phillies from 2020 to 2022. He won the 2009 World Series with New York and has a 1,120-935 record.

Jayce Tingler: The Twins’ bench coach was 116-106 in two seasons as the Padres manager in 2020 and ’21. The Rockies looked within the division to an ex-Padres skipper when they hired Black; maybe Monfort & Co. see the 44-year-old Tingler as someone who could bring a spark.

Skip Schumaker: He was 146-178 in two seasons as the Marlins manager in 2023 and ’24, including a playoff berth in his first year that resulted in NL Manager of the Year. The 11-year MLB veteran is 45 and could identify with a young clubhouse. He is a senior adviser for the Rangers.

Rodney Linares: Linares managed at every level of the minors for the Astros while garnering a reputation for player development, something the Rockies need. He is the bench coach for the Rays, a small-market team that has consistent success, and that the Rockies should try to emulate.

David Ross: The 15-year MLB catcher who won two World Series titles as a player — including a home run in Game 7 of his final game — was the Cubs manager from 2020 to ’23, with a 262-284 record and one playoff appearance. The 48-year-old can bring intellect and fire to the bench.

Ryan Flaherty: The 38-year-old Cubs bench coach played eight MLB seasons as an infield utilityman, most recently with Cleveland in 2019. He’s young to get a manager job, but guys like Kevin Cash, Oliver Marmol and Dave Roberts also all managed their first seasons before age 45.

Brad Ausmus: An 18-year MLB catching veteran, Ausmus managed the Tigers from 2014 to ’17 and the Angels in 2019. He posted a 386-422 record over five seasons with one playoff appearance, his first year in Detroit. The 56-year-old is in his second year as the Yankees’ bench coach.

Walt Weiss: For an insular organization like the Rockies that leans on familiarity when making important hires, Weiss could make sense. The former Rockies shortstop was 283-365 in four seasons from 2013 to ’16, and he’s served as the Braves’ bench coach since 2018. Why not reunite?

10 other names that might be considered: David Bell, Buck Showalter, Gabe Kapler, Bobby Meacham, Kai Correa, Craig Albernaz, George Lombard, Kevin Long, Adam Ottavino, Don Mattingly.

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

To steal a phrase from our good friend, George Castanza, “The fans were angry that day, my friends — like an old man trying to send back soup in a deli.”

Many Rockies fans are mighty ticked off by a team that entered Tuesday’s play with a 3-13 record and a minus-46 run differential, both the worst in the majors. The Rockies just went 32 consecutive innings without scoring a run, setting a franchise record for futility. All of that after back-to-back 100-loss seasons.

Little wonder that we have several questions/rants about manager Bud Black, general manager Bill Schmidt and owner Dick Monfort. Now, on with the show …

Patrick, after the horrible weekend where the Rockies scored zero runs and only had nine hits, they are once again sitting in the basement of the National League West. How does the organization continue to operate without urgency or desire to win? Every year, the owner, general manager and manager lead the fans on and say things to make it seem positive for the future. The reality is that there is an organizational failure that has gone on for years — with no accountability. Does MLB truly like the product that the Rockies put out every year? It feels like this is beyond an embarrassment at this point. Can the MLB force a change in any manner?

— Nick Pilotis, Englewood

Nick, of course, the Rockies’ powers that be say positive things about the club — at least publicly. What else are they going to do? But believe me, Bud Black and Bill Schmidt know they don’t have enough talent right now to field a winning club. But they won’t throw any of their players under the bus. That won’t do anybody any good.

There is a desire to win at 20th and Blake, at least in the clubhouse and the manager’s office. However, winning is clearly not a priority for owner Dick Monfort, whose team is headed toward its seventh consecutive losing season and mired in the worst stretch of baseball in franchise history.

You’re right about the lack of urgency. If winning was a top priority, the team would have built upon its winning foundation in 2018 instead of letting it all fall apart.

Major League Baseball doesn’t care if the Rockies lose 100 games for a third season. However, MLB does care that the Rockies are the only team in the Mountain time zone and is content as long as the club continues drawing 32,000 fans per game to Coors Field.

I get Dick Monfort is loyal to a fault. However, do you see a point where he would fire Bud Black before the end of the season?

— Nick Burklund, Colorado Springs

Nick, if the Rockies continue to careen toward another 100-loss season, Black’s job will be in jeopardy. There’s no way around that. I don’t believe he’s lost the clubhouse, and he’s tried to remain upbeat, but that can’t be easy.

It’s a shame because Black is a good man and a good manager. But he can’t hit for his players or pitch for his pitchers.

How does Dick Monfort rationalize maintaining the status quo with the general manager and manager after two years of 100-plus losses and now possessing the worst record in MLB?

— Jerry, Boulder

Jerry, I don’t have an answer because I haven’t talked to Monfort recently. In the wake of the Nuggets’ recent decision to fire coach Mike Malone and GM Calvin Booth, I contacted Monfort about the status of Black and Schmidt. He declined to respond. Monfort owes it to the fans to discuss the state of his failing team.

When will it be time to move on from Bud Black? Why are Rockies fans so scared to blame him for all the losing? Is it time to hire Todd Helton or Vinny Castilla to become the new manager? Should this be expected in the coming weeks?

— Daniel M., Louisville

Daniel, I don’t think fans are “scared” to blame Black for all of the losses. Some fans like him and sympathize with him. Others are tired of Black and believe he gets a free ride from many in the media, including me. There are a lot of opinions out there regarding the Rockies’ manager. There is no timeline for a change.

As for Helton, he doesn’t want to be a manager. Castilla? I’m not sure. He’s previously managed Team Mexico, but I don’t know if he wants to be a full-time big-league manager.

I think Bud Black is a great manager, but is it possible this Rockies team isn’t a good fit for him? Are some managers better at supporting a pitching staff than their lineup? Black was amazing at helping young pitchers blossom, but most young Rockies hitters have struggled to break in the last couple of seasons and always talk about “trying too hard.” In contrast, managers like Jim Tracy and Walt Weiss seemed to excel at helping young hitters gain confidence.

— Isaac Bowen, Fort Collins

Isaac, I’ve never looked at Black from that perspective. It’s true that Black knows much more about pitching than he does about hitting, but there have been plenty of managers who know a lot about the intricacies of hitting but not much about pitching. A manager’s job is just that — to manage all aspects of the team.

The bottom line is that the Rockies are not a very talented team, and their young hitters are currently overmatched by big-league pitching.

With the bleakness on the field and the future looking equally bleak for the Rockies, what do you see as a potential bright spot this summer? Losses are piling up, but there has to be something positive to watch this summer.

— Kyle, Thornton

Kyle, bless you for your question. I was drowning in a sea of negativity.

I think right-hander Chase Dollander will be fun to watch. He’s going to struggle at times and will give up home runs. But he’s also going to strike out a lot of batters, and I’m betting he has a couple of dominating performances.

Shortstop Ezequiel Tovar and center fielder Brenton Doyle have All-Star talent, and Ryan McMahon is a joy to watch at third base. When Thairo Estrada returns from his injury, he’ll be excellent at second base and inject some life into a dormant offense.

Since Bill Schmidt took over as GM, the Rockies have gone 188-298. Are we picking up enough young talent like the did during their worst years to make a turnaround any time soon? I don’t know if our analytics department is up for the task. Is there any way we can steal from Baltimore?

— Mark, Arvada

Mark, I double-checked your math. Counting Schmidt’s tenure as the interim GM beginning on May 3, 2001, the Rockies are 255-380 entering Tuesday night’s game at Los Angeles.

Anyway, there is some young talent in the organization, but aside from shortstop Ezequiel Tovar and center fielder Brenton Doyle, it has yet to transfer to the majors.

Starting first baseman Michael Toglia, a first-round draft choice out of UCLA in 2019, has been an enormous disappointment. This was supposed to be his breakout season, but he’s slashing .167/.206/.217 with no home runs and one RBI after 16 games. His 29 strikeouts lead the majors, and his strikeout rate is an astonishing 46%.

The Rockies’ farm system is ranked in the middle of the pack. ranks it No. 13, and ranks it 18th. In other words, the Rockies are not stocked with young talent like the Orioles are, so I don’t see a turnaround on the near horizon.

As for Mejdal, Baltimore’s assistant GM and analytics wizard, I don’t see him leaving the Orioles for the Rockies.

How does the Rockies’ analytics department compare to the rest of the majors? My understanding is the Rockies are way behind in this area. 

— Bill Eldred, Parker

Bill, you are correct; the Rockies’ analytics department remains one of the smallest in the majors.

If the Monforts were to sell the Rockies franchise, what would be the price tag and are there any potential buyers rumored at this time?

— Dom, Longmont

Dom, I don’t know what the actual selling price would be. , the Rockies are worth $1.475 billion, ranking 24th in the majors. The Yankees, by comparison, are valued at $8.2 billion.

There have been rumors occasionally that the Monfort brothers might sell the team, but those rumors are unsubstantiated. With Walker and Sterling Monfort (Dick’s sons) already working for the organization, I believe the Rockies will be owned by the family for many years to come.

Why can most other teams manage to teach their hitters to lay off pitches out of the zone, but the Rockies consistently have the highest “chase rate” in baseball? The Dodgers, especially, never swing at pitches out of the strike zone. This year already, we have seen at least a half-dozen 3-2 pitches that would have been ball four but resulted in strikeouts.

— Tom Ricca, Centennial

Tom, it’s incredibly frustrating. , the Rockies’ 31.6% chase rate is the second-highest in the majors, trailing only Texas (32.2%). The Dodgers, like all teams, do swing at pitches outside the strike zone, just not as much as the Rockies. The Dodgers’ 27.7% chase rate is the ninth lowest in baseball.

The big difference is that while other teams chase pitches, they also hit home runs. The Rockies rarely hit homers. It’s a bad combination.

Why is it happening? Young players who are overmatched are the No. 1 reason. Too many players are stubborn about adjusting their approach, especially with two strikes. The coaching/teaching is not getting through to several players.

Given his flair, quirkiness, off-the-wall celebrations, and place of birth, isn’t it time we gave Zac Veen the nickname “Florida Man?”

— Rick, Colorado Springs

Rick, if you want to name Veen that, go for it. But how about we wait on a nickname until the rookie outfielder starts hitting? Veen entered Tuesday hitting .125 with zero homers, one RBI, and a 34.6% K rate.

Royals owner John Sherman said something about it. Then he did something about it.

“It sucked,” at the end of spring training. “But that����ap what motivates you. Sometimes, you need that slap upside the head, right? We don’t know what����ap going to happen, but we cannot tolerate something like that again for our fans.”

So the Royals went big and bold.

Their aggressiveness stoked a remarkable 30-game about-face (56-106 last season to 86-76 this season), a two-game sweep of the Orioles in the American League wild-card series, and a berth in the ALDS before they fell in four games to the Yankees.

By beating the Orioles, Kansas City became just the second team to win a postseason series one year after losing at least 100 games. The other was the 2020 Marlins, who snuck into the playoffs in the pandemic-shortened 60-game season.

Rockies fans should hope owner Dick Monfort was paying attention.

Monfort’s club, which lost 103 games last season and 101 this season, is making some strides toward a turnaround with some young talent on the roster and in the system. But does the will and the wherewithal exist at 20th and Blake to put the Rockies in position for a playoff swing?

General manager Bill Schmidt and manager Bud Black, who just agreed to return for the 2025 season, are optimistic about the future but not making any promises.

“Our talent base is getting better,” Schmidt said at the end of the season. “Our depth is getting better. I’m not going to say we’re going from this year to win 95 next year. Our record this year might be similar (to 2023), but we’re going to be a better club.”

Asked if Colorado can mimic the Royals and the Tigers (who went from 78-84 to 86-76 and the playoffs), Black answered: “Kansas City? Detroit? Anything is possible. When I got here in ’17 … what happened in ’16? (Colorado was 75-87 under Walt Weiss.) And then we made the playoffs. I’m going to say yes. I’m optimistic.”

But the Rockies aren’t the Royals and Monfort is not Sherman.

During the offseason, K.C. committed $109.5 million to free agents, the most money in any offseason in franchise history, including free-agent starting pitcher signees Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha. They also signed their star shortstop, Bobby Witt Jr., to a contract extension that could add up to $377 million over 14 years.

The Royals’ first big roster move was signing free-agent pitcher Will Smith for the back end of their bullpen. Smith had been on the roster of the last three World Series champions, with the Rangers, Astros and Braves.

During the season, when they sensed success was on the horizon, they acquired closer Lucas Erceg and outfielder Tommy Pham.

The Royals, who had not been to the playoffs since winning the World Series in 2015, created an effective roster mix. Their postseason roster featured 12 homegrown players, including draftees and international signees. The other 14 players came from trades and free agency. Of those 14 players, 11 had previous postseason experience.

The Royals are far from a powerhouse franchise. Last season, they averaged just 16,136 fans per game at Kauffman Stadium, ranking 27th in the majors, ahead of only the Marlins and the A’s. This season, the Royals drew 20,473, ranking 26th.

Kansas City’s total payroll this season was $122.5 million, ranking 20th. Last year, it was $96.1 million (23rd).

After the 106-loss debacle, GM J.J. Picollo immediately began reshaping the front office. He hired Brian Bridges as the new scouting director, promoted Jim Cuthbert to director of pro personnel and strategy, and beefed up the preseason and development department by hiring six new people.

And so the seeds of a playoff team were planted.

The Rockies, meanwhile, have some distinct advantages over the Royals. They drew 31,360 fans per home game this season, ranking 15th. Their payroll was $147.4 million (17th).

The problem is not the Rockies’ failure to spend money; it’s how they’ve spent it. This season, $28 million (19%) of Colorado’s payroll went to the perennially injured Kris Bryant, who played in just 37 games with 155 plate appearances. For the record, that amounts to about $757,000 per game.

Monfort courted Bryant, who has played in just 33% of the Rockies’ games since signing a seven-year, $182 million contract before the 2022 season, the biggest free-agent deal in franchise history.

Giving former closer Daniel Bard a two-year, $19 million deal for the 2023-24 season was also a big misstep. Bard, derailed by injuries, did not pitch a game in ’24.

Schmidt is right when he says the Rockies’ talent is getting better. They have two budding, perennial All-Stars in shortstop Ezequiel Tovar and center fielder Brenton Doyle.

With pitching prospects Chase Dollander, Carson Palmquist, Sean Sullivan and Gabriel Hughes nearing their big-league debuts, the starting rotation has a chance to be better and deeper than it’s been since 2018. We know that free-agent starters aren’t going to come to Colorado, so the Rockies will need their youngsters to make the big-league grade.

But even if they do, as soon as next season, the Rockies’ tepid offense has a huge strikeout problem that must be solved. For all of the optimism about the bullpen during the season’s final month, it remains a huge question mark. Plus, the Rockies lack a middle-of-the-lineup slugger.

After their 106-loss season, the Royals faced similar dilemmas. Their offseason blueprint included finding two quality veteran starting pitchers, a trio of tested relievers, and a big bat. They acquired all of the pieces and more.

The Rockies, in the hole with a losing record for six consecutive seasons, believe they’ve moved into the on-deck circle. Now it’s time for them to prove they’re serious about stepping up to the plate.

But Sunday afternoon’s festivities at Coors Field in front of a sellout crowd of 48,320 fans left the Rockies’ four-time All-Star outfielder gobsmacked.

“This exceeded my wildest expectations, and it’s just been incredible for me and my family,” the 38-year-old Blackmon said after playing the 1,624th and final game of his career in a 2-1 loss to the Dodgers.

Blackmon’s going-away party included words of adulation, video tributes (from former Rockies greats Nolan Arenado, Trevor Story, Todd Helton and Walt Weiss), multiple standing ovations and goosebumps aplenty.

The Rockies even gifted Blackmon a Toyota Tundra truck, adorned with the team logo on the side and his No. 19 on the hood. The white truck had previously been perched on a pedestal on the left-field concourse. Now, Blackmon will take it back to Georgia with him.

“I had no idea, I was shocked,” he said. “What an incredible gift. To have it be part of Coors Field — the truck that was up there — that’s pretty special.”

But two moments before the game caused “Chuck Nazty’s” heart to skip a beat and elicit a few tears.

His wife, Ashley, and their two young children, Josie and Wyatt, joined him on the field for a pregame ceremony, where he was presented with a plaque. His kids then threw out the game’s first pitch.

Next, Blackmon took the field, all alone, jogging to center to the sounds of John Fogerty’s song, “Centerfield.” He had not played the position since the 2018 playoffs between the Brewers and Rockies.

The fans serenaded him with cheers.

“Right before the game started and I ran out to center field was probably the greatest moment,” Blackmon said.

The Rockies had a solid Blackmon game plan going into Sunday.

“I go, ‘Chuck, you’re going to run out to center, but everybody’s not going to go out there with you,'” manager Bud Black said before the game, calling it a “tribute.”

“Charlie goes, ‘How long am I going to be out there by myself?’ I’m like, ’20, 30 seconds, maybe.’ He goes, ‘OK, but not any longer than that.’ ”

Blackmon, in his customary leadoff spot, hit 1 for 2 and left the game to a standing ovation in the third inning. He finished his career hitting .293 with 227 homers and 1,805 hits. He finished first in franchise history with 68 triples. He trails only Helton in games played, runs, hits, doubles, extra-base hits and total bases.

A second-round draft pick out of Georgia Tech in 2008, Blackmon overcame a slow, injury-filled start to his career to become one of just 50 players in major league history to generate more than 1,800 hits, 325 doubles, 225 home runs, 65 triples and 800 RBIs. He was the National League batting champion in 2017 when he hit .331 and drove in 104 runs.

Blackmon told Black before the game that he didn’t want to play the whole game but wanted at least two at-bats. The third-inning hit allowed Blackmon to soak up the fans’ adoration.

“I still want to win, so it was really cool to end on a hit,” he said. “So to get a hit one last time, and being able to savor the moment was really cool.”

Blackmon is one of the most popular players in Rockies history with his teammates and fans. He signed baseballs for his teammates in the clubhouse after the game.

“Literally, the best teammate I’ve ever had,” said all-star third baseman Ryan McMahon, one of Blackmon’s closest friends on the team. “He’s the most unselfish person I’ve been around. The total pro’s pro.”

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts paid Blackmon a huge compliment.

“For me, he’s everything I would want in a baseball player — outside of that big, old, ugly beard,” Roberts said. “You look at the last, call it 10 to 12 years, he’s one of probably my top five players I’ve enjoyed watching play.”

Before Sunday’s game, Black and Blackmon exchanged words and bro-hugs in Black’s office.

“It got a little emotional with Charlie,” Black said. “We pulled out of our hugs with a smile and I said, ‘Hey, this is not it, I’m going to see you again.’ ”

That’s true, but Black will never write Blackmon’s name at the top of a lineup card again.

Color me skeptical.

Not only are the Rockies likely headed toward their second consecutive 100-loss season, but the 2024 Rockies are not the 2016 Rockies, and that’s a problem.

Related: Where do the Rockies stand? Results, game stories, highlights and more

The ’16 season is largely forgotten — understandably so. Under manager Walt Weiss, Colorado finished 75-87, third in the National League West, 16 games behind the Dodgers.

Yet there were hints of what was to come in 2017-18 when the Rockies, under Black, made the postseason in back-to-back seasons for the only time in their history.

“There is no doubt in my mind we were turning the corner,” Weiss told me before the Braves beat the Marlins on Thursday. Weiss has been Atlanta’s bench coach since 2018.

Weiss left the Rockies after the 2016 season when he clashed with former GM Jeff Bridich, who wanted Weiss gone, ASAP.

Still, Weiss knew he was leaving a team on the cusp of becoming a contender.

“We had all of those young pitchers on the brink of becoming big leaguers,” Weiss said. “We already had a strong lineup, great position players. Great clubhouse. There was a new rotation waiting to be plugged in in ’17, and the young pitchers were very talented.

“With that little run that the Rockies had in ’17 and ’18, I think they had the best overall pitching they’ve have ever had.”

The 2017 team saw the emergence of Kyle Freeland, German Marquez, Antonio Senzatela and Jon Gray (in his second full season). Plus, Bridich signed Greg Holland as the closer, and he delivered 41 saves over 57 1/3 innings.

In 2016, Colorado’s lineup was already loaded. Nolan Arenado hit .294 with 41 homers. DJ LeMahieu won the NL batting title with a .348 average and 11 homers. Charlie Blackmon hit .324 with 29 homers. Carlos Gonzalez hit .298 with 25 homers.

As a rookie shortstop, Trevor Story hit 27 homers in just 97 games before tearing a ligament in his left thumb. The Rockies were 52-52 on July 30 when Story was injured during a game at Citi Field vs. the Mets.

The Rockies went 23-35 the rest of the way as the rotation wobbled and the bullpen imploded.

But the seeds of success were planted.

Schmidt believes something similar is happening now. Indeed, he projected a brighter future during the winter meetings in 2022.

“We’re not where we need to be, but I use the bamboo theory,” Schmidt said. “There’s a lot of stuff growing underneath that people don’t see, and it����ap gonna pop here. When it does, we’re going to be good.”

Schmidt’s belief that the Rockies are “gonna pop” — as soon as next season — certainly factored into their wallflower stance at the trade deadline. Schmidt wasn’t ready to trade core players, especially when he didn’t get any worthy offers.

But unless offseason extensions are worked out, right-handed starters German Marquez and Cal Quantrill, lefty starter Austin Gomber, and starting second baseman Brendan Rodgers will all be in the final year of their contracts entering 2025.

That’s why next season is so critical and why Schmidt needs to make some aggressive, savvy moves — beginning this offseason.

The future rotation has potential and has a chance to remind us of the stellar 2017-18 crew. Freeland is returning to form. Marquez, presumably, will come back strong from Tommy John surgery. The same goes for Senzatela.

Quantrill (if he’s not traded in the offseason) and Gomber (ditto) are capable of solid innings, and righty Ryan Feltner, though a work in progress, has the raw stuff to be a force. Lefty Carson Palmquist and right-handers Chase Dollander and Gabriel Hughes are prospects with promising futures.

But I’m not bullish about the bullpen, which entered the weekend with a 5.56 ERA, the worst in the majors. Right-hander Victor Vodnik has shown promise as a future closer, but if Schmidt wants to turn the corner next season, he must find a veteran late-inning reliever and fill other holes.

Yet that isn’t even the Rockies’ biggest shortcoming: The primary reason I can’t equate the ’24 team with the ’16 team is their lackluster lineup.

Shortstop Ezequiel Tovar and center fielder Brenton Doyle are All-Star worthy and pillars of the franchise. Third baseman Ryan McMahon remains on the cusp of being a difference-making player, but he’s incredibly streaky and has never come close to Arenado in Arenado’s prime.

Slick fielding first baseman Michael Toglia, who hit his 19th homer Thursday night at Anaheim, is becoming a force, although he still strikes out too much.

But first baseman/designated hitter Kris Bryant shows no signs of being the “aircraft carrier” the Rockies projected him to be. After this season, he’s still under contract for four more years at $27 million annually. That’s a big chunk of change for a player who will never be close to what he once was with Chicago.

Blackmon, 38, doesn’t figure in Colorado’s future plans, and I doubt Rodgers will ever be the impact player the Rockies hoped he’d become.

Yes, some intriguing prospects are on the horizon — outfielders Jordan Beck, Zac Veen, and Yanquiel Fernandez, infielder Amadel Amador, and catcher Drew Romo — but they have a long way to go before they become Arenado, Blackmon, LeMahieu, Story and CarGo.

In ’16, the Rockies posted a losing record for their sixth consecutive season, the longest streak in franchise history. The ’24 Rockies will equal that mark.

Will the Rockies be better in ’25? Yep. But I don’t see playoffs on the horizon. I see a seventh straight losing season, and the Rockies asking their fans for more patience.

Rockies: 2016 vs. 2024

The Rockies turned the corner after their 2016 season, making the playoffs in 2017-18. The club hopes for similar results after this season. Here’s a comparison of the ’16 and ’24 seasons:

(Can’t see chart in mobile? Click here)

* On pace for a 162-game season | Note: 2024 statistics through Thursday’s game

The former Blake Street Bomber, now a special assistant to Rockies general manager Bill Schmidt, is arguably the most famous Mexican-born big league position player in MLB history. He’s also his native country’s most accomplished, as in homers (320), doubles (349), hits (1,884), runs (902) and RBIs (1,105).

“I’m sure Vinny’s going to be treated like the mayor on our trip,” third baseman Ryan McMahon quipped. “Everyone knows he’s beloved back there. We’re ready to see the fans mob the rockstar.”

“Cuz” grew up in Oaxaca, Mexico, about six hours southeast of where the Rockies will play Houston in Mexico City this Saturday and Sunday.

He originally signed with the Braves in early 1990 as a skinny shortstop prospect. As Castilla recalled, the Braves paid his Mexican League club, Saraperos de Saltillo, $25,000 for his rights. Castilla said he got about $6,000 of that.

That was the humble genesis of an MLB career that eventually led to two All-Star nods and three Silver Sluggers with Colorado. Of course, his 16-year big-league career, 13 of which were spent with the Braves and the Rockies, could’ve looked a lot different had Castilla been signed by another club.

Before signing with Atlanta, Castilla had tryouts with a handful of other teams, including the Reds, Dodgers, Rangers and Brewers. But none of those panned out, possibly because the asking price by his Mexican League team was too high.

“To this day, I don’t know if I wasn’t good enough for those teams, or if my Mexican League team was asking too much money for me,” Castilla said. “But I’m grateful for the way everything worked out.”

After debuting for the Braves as a September call-up in 1991, garnering just six plate appearances, Castilla spent most of 1992 in Triple-A. He played in only nine games for Atlanta that season, and at the time, projected as a light-hitting utility infielder.

But when the Braves left him unprotected in the 1992 expansion draft — holding onto current CU football coach Deion Sanders and a few other bubble players instead — Castilla got the first of two big breaks that paved the path to him becoming a Mexican baseball icon. The Rockies selected him with their 20th pick.

“That was the best thing to happen to me, was to come to Colorado and get a chance to play,” Castilla said.

In his debut with the Rockies in 1993, Castilla platooned at shortstop with Freddie Benavides. In 1994, he saw action at all four infield positions, including backing up Walt Weiss at shortstop, while also playing in Triple-A. Across those first two seasons in LoDo, Castilla hit just 12 homers in 157 games.

But when 1995 came, everything changed. Castilla broke out with 32 homers as the starting third baseman in a strike-shortened season. He earned his first All-Star nod and first Silver Slugger, and that was the start of him proving himself as one of the best fastball hitters of the 1990s.

“(Original Rockies GM) Bob Gebhard called me after that 1994 season ended with the strike and told me to be ready to play third base,” Castilla recalled. “I played it in instructional league, and then played third base in Mexico in the winter league to get ready. We didn’t sign Charlie Hayes back, and that was my opening. I took advantage of it.”

Castilla, who manages Sultanes de Monterrey in the winter Mexican League, knows it’s going to be a different ambiance at Alfredo Harp Helú Stadium this weekend compared to what Colorado players are used to.

In the first MLB game played in Mexico City last year between the Padres and Giants, the blare of horns and a mariachi band behind home plate provided a soundtrack to

The game tied an MLB record with 10 players homering in the stadium at 7,349 feet, an elevation more than 2,000 feet higher than Coors Field. There will be a humidor in use for this weekend’s games, but it’s fair to expect lots of offense along with the energy of a sold-out bandbox crowd of 20,576. The stadium’s left and right field lines are 332 feet, while center is 410 feet.

“It’s going to be louder than the guys are used to,” said right-hander Justin Lawrence, who experienced a raucous international atmosphere when pitching for Panama in the World Baseball Classic in 2023. “I imagine it will be pretty similar to a soccer environment. Games here in the States, there’s noise but it kind of simmers down as the pitches come, unless it’s a big moment.

“Playing in Taiwan last year, it didn’t stop. It was just nine innings straight of noise, so I’m anticipating an environment like that.”

Castilla said he’s “excited to share in these games and moments with my people,” while Rockies manager Bud Black pitched the idea of expanding MLB’s World Tour. Since began in 1996 with a Padres-Mets series in Monterrey, the league’s played regular-season games in Australia, Japan, Puerto Rico, England, Mexico and most recently South Korea.

The Rockies previously played a regular-season game at Estadio de Beisbol in Monterrey in the 1999 season opener. Colorado won, 8-2, and Castilla went 4 for 5 with a double and a run scored, much to the delight of the home crowd.

Those types of moments are why Black describes himself as “pro international” when it comes to putting MLB’s product on a global stage.

“The London Series (in 2019 between the Red Sox and Yankees) was fun, and the Korea experience this year, from what I heard from the people on the Padres and Dodgers, was a good experience,” Black said. “It’s great for baseball, to continue to grow the sport worldwide. I’d love to see (MLB games) played in many more countries than we’ve already played.”

The Rockies travel to Mexico on their off day, Friday, before playing on Saturday (4:05 p.m. MT) and Sunday (2:05 p.m. MT, ESPN). Castilla and former Rockies pitcher Jorge De La Rosa are throwing out the ceremonial first pitches on Sunday.

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