Rockies open offseason with pair of uninspiring moves

The Colorado Rockies were terrible in 2026, posting the worst record in baseball (43-119), and will likely be a bottom-feeder again in 2026. 

The Rockies can't go anywhere but up, and they feel they have the man in charge to lead the turnaround in manager Warren Schaffer, who they re-signed as their full-time manager before Thanksgiving.

Exciting as they may be, the Rockies may have tipped their hand on their strategy for 2026 with a couple of their recent free agent signings. According to Kevin Henry of the Denver Gazette, the Rockies signed infielder Nicky Lopez and right-handed reliever John Brebbia to minor league deals with invites to spring training. 

Signing Nicky Lopez and John Brebbia shows the Rockies won't be moving the needle in 2026 

Both Lopez and Brebbia have a chance to make the team, with the Rockies having a vacancy at second base and having the second-worst bullpen ERA (5.18) in 2025. Even if Lopez and Brenna made the team and somehow stayed on the Rockies roster till the trade deadline, neither would fetch the Rockies the much-needed pitching prospect they need to take the step forward. 

Lopez appeared in 18 games between the Chicago Cubs and the Los Angeles Angels and hit .042, while Brebbia appeared in 22 games between the Detroit Tigers and Atlanta Braves and had a 7.71 ERA. 

The Rockies need starting pitching to take the next step forward

The Rockies do have an exciting young core, led by their All-Star catcher Hunter Goodman and Gold Glove shortstop Ezequiel Tovar. However, 2026 will be another building year for them, and with a potential strike looming after this upcoming season, it could put the Rockies back further than they wanted to be. 

With the worst starting pitchers' ERA in baseball (6.65), the Rockies need to acquire arms who can pitch in the high altitude of Denver.

A staff led by left-hander Kyle Freedland, who has only had a winning record once in his career (17-7 in 2018) and an ERA under 3.00 once (2.85, 2018), and Chase Dollander, who had a terrible rookie season — 2-12 with a 6.52 ERA — needs reinforcements. 

The free agent market offers a wealth of “mid-level” arms for the Rockies to sign, such as RHPs Merrill Kelly, Zack Littell or even Zac Gallen. Of course, owner Richard Monfort would need to be willing to open up the wallet and spend a little to speed up their rebuild.