Colorado Rockies interim manager Warren Schaeffer (34) during the first inning at Coors Field. Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Grading Rockies Managers During Franchise-Worst Performance in 2025

Originally posted on Colorado Rockies on SI
By Matt Postins | Last updated Oct 22, 2025 10:00 AM ET

One could make the argument that firing Bud Black in May really made little difference in the trajectory of the season of the 2025 Colorado Rockies.

When Black was fired Colorado was 7-33. His bench coach, Warren Schaeffer, was installed as the interim manager. He led the Rockies to a 36-86 record. The best thing you can say about Schaeffer is that he was able to guide the Rockies to a season in which they did not set a new Major League record for most losses in a season. The 121 losses of the Chicago White Sox in 2024 remains the game’s gold standard for ineptitude.

But it also saddled Schaeffer with a record that will be it hard for him to argue that he should be named the full-time manager in 2026. In many ways, the grade of both Black and Schaeffer is tied to the front office, which will have a new general manager for next season after Bill Schmidt stepped aside after the season.

So, how culpable are the pair for the Rockies losing 119 games? That’s an interesting question.

Grading Black and Schaeffer

Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Keeping Black as manager eventually would have been unsustainable, no matter when he was fired. He led the Rockies to two straight playoff berths in his first two seasons. But he also guided them to back-to-back 100-loss seasons in 2023 and 2024.

If there were a time to fire him, it would have been after the 2023 season when Colorado finished with 103 losses, its first triple-digit losing season. Instead, the Rockies waited 18 months to jettison him.

Schaeffer was working with the same deck of cards, and he made things marginally better. The Rockies won 10 games in June and 11 games in August, the only two months in which they won 10 or more games. Colorado’s winning percentage from June to August was well above .350.

The team seemed to play with more energy. More players filtered up from Triple-A Albuquerque, where Schaeffer had managed and where he built relationships with several prospects. It made their transition a bit smoother.

But in September the team cratered. The Rockies with 4-21 in the final 25 games and barely avoided tying or surpassing the White Sox. They did enough, but Schaeffer couldn’t pull the strings to much more out of the Rockies. Part of being a good manager is finding ways to squeeze everything out of a team late in the season. He couldn’t.

In the final analysis, the Rockies started with a manager who was probably too long for the job and ended with a manager who needed more experience. It led to a near-record tying or setting disaster. Some grace must be given for what they had to work with, which overall wasn’t much. But some of the failure must fall to them.

Final Grade: D

This article first appeared on Colorado Rockies on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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