Recapping Rockies Five Best Transactions During Awful 2025 Season

Parting with long-time Rockies star Ryan McMahon was tough. But the return for him was solid. In fact, the Rockies made three deals at the deadline and all yielded potential stars in return.

Trading McMahon to the New York Yankees brought in two pitchers, Josh Grosz and Griffin Herring. Grosz is 12-22 with a 4.26 ERA in two minor league seasons. He’s a workhorse with good strikeout and opponent batting average numbers. Herring, a former LSU left-hander, was brilliant in his first pro season — 8-4 with a 1.89 ERA. Both are potential rotation pieces.

Colorado got pitcher Austin Smith from Atlanta in return for pitcher Tyler Kinley. The reliever was terrific at Double-A Hartford — 2-3 with a 1.69 ERA in 15 games and 16 innings.

The Rockies shipped reliever Jake Bird to the Yankees for infielder Roc Riggio and left-hander Ben Shields. Riggio is coming off his best pro season — a .262/.363/.517 slash with 20 home runs and 59 RBI. He’s a potential starter. Shields was hurt part of the year, but his 14 starts were hard to ignore — 2-2 with a 2.78 ERA with 66 strikeouts in 55 innings.

Colorado did well at the deadline. It will just take time to pay off.

Picking Up Blaine Crim

When Colorado picked up the Texas Rangers castoff in August, did it know it may have found its first baseman of the future?

Crim never got a fair shot in Texas, where he played behind Nathaniel Lowe and Jake Burger. He went hitless in five MLB games before he was released. With Colorado he slashed .241/.295/.556 with five home runs and 12 RBI in 15 games. He tied for the second-most RBI in the first seven games with the franchise with the legendary Andres Gallaraga.

This was a savvy pick-up for the Rockies. It may save their short-term production at first base while they wait on Charlie Condon, who can play there or outfield. If Crim is the right guy, then Condon heads to outfield or DH.

Drafting Ethan Holliday

When Holliday fell to the Rockies at No. 4, it must have felt like karma. The son of former Rockies legend Matt Holliday and the younger brother of Baltimore Orioles second baseman Jackson Holliday was the perfect boost for the system.

He picked up a bat in instructional league in August and then the Rockies shipped him to Class-A Fresno to give the 18-year-old some at-bats. The production was solid — a .239/.357/.380 slash with two home runs, six RBI, four doubles and 12 walks in 18 games. He struck out 30 times in 71 at-bats.

He is Colorado’s shortstop of the future. If he has the power of dad and older brother, the Rockies will let him play wherever he wants.

Signing Mickey Moniak

The Rockies took a flier on Moniak, a former first-round pick of the Philadelphia Phillies back in 2016 who never caught on anywhere. The former prep star signed for $2 million. It was the best money Colorado spent the entire season.

He slashed .270/.306/.518 with an .824 OPS. He hit 24 home runs and drove in 68 runs. Truth is his numbers have been tracking better the past two seasons when he was with the Los Angeles Angels. But, this was his breakthrough season.

Moniak’s slow development is to Colorado’s advantage. He has two more years of team control as he heads to arbitration for the second time and he’s projected to make only $4.27 million. That’s the sort of cash outlay that is right in Colorado’s wheelhouse.

Rebooting the Front Office

It was the right thing to do. In fact, it was probably overdue. The Rockies are considered one of the most insular franchises in baseball and much of their baseball staff had been with the franchise for some time. General manager Bill Schmidt stepped aside after the season. He had been with the franchise a quarter-century in various roles. His assistant, Zack Rosenthal, resigned. He was with the franchise since 2007.

Colorado’s leadership has put an emphasis on finding a baseball leader from outside the organization who understands how to put together winning baseball teams from a small- to medium-market perspective. The three perceived front-runners have that experience. There are also reports of hiring a strategy leader and boosting the franchise’s analytics department.

Those are all good signs for a franchise that hasn’t been pulling every level to succeed.