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Rockies Receive Promising New Outlook Ahead of Opening Day

Originally posted on Colorado Rockies on SI
By Scott Roche | Last updated Mar 5, 2026 6:00 PM ET

Coming off a season where they went 43-119, there is nowhere to go but up for the Colorado Rockies in 2026. There were some big changes made, including changes in the front office with a new president of baseball operations, Paul DePodesta and a new general manager, Josh Byrnes. DePodesta also removed the interim tag from manager Warren Schaeffer.

There were not many major moves made in terms of the roster by DePodesta, which really isn't surprising, given that he needs time to evaluate everything before making drastic moves. Which young players are part of the future and which could help them in trades with the rebuild? That's what they need to figure out.

Spring training is nearly half over and Opening Day is just three short weeks away against the Miami Marlins in Florida. Expectations are not high in Colorado and they will just be looking to take a step forward in the right direction from where things have been going. Mike Petriello of MLB.com put all 30 teams into tiers heading into the season and the Rockies were in a promising one.

Rockies Placed in Promising Tier Ahead of 2026 Season

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Petriello placed Colorado in the "Lots of losses ahead, but finally headed in the right direction" tier. After three straight 100-loss seasons, if the Rockies can avoid a fourth straight 100-loss campaign, then they are heading in the right direction. Improving last year's record would be considered heading in the right direction. Joining Colorado in the same tier were the St. Louis Cardinals, Washington Nationals and Chicago White Sox.

"Here we have the three teams that lost more than 95 games last year, and one, the Rockies, that posted a wild 43-119 mark and was outscored by more runs than any team in modern history. And yet, we’re moving them up a tier from last year's Tier 9! It’s still going to be a long season, full of a lot more losses than victories. But for some of these clubs, for the first time in a very long time, you can see the future plan starting to move along,'' wrote Petriello.

Sure, it's likely going to be another season in Denver, but there is a different feeling around the team in spring training. Players lobbied to have Schaeffer come back following last season and after he was hired, DePodesta agreed by removing the interim tag. The Rockies would benefit this year from some young players making strides and some of the veterans brought in have good seasons and could be traded at the deadline for assets. If those things happen, then things are certainly heading in the right direction for Colorado.

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

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