The Rockies made a pair of additions in the first base department in late January. The club added Edouard Julien in a trade with the Twins, then picked up T.J. Rumfield in a deal with the Yankees. Even after bringing in two first base options in one day, president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta didn’t close the door on more acquisitions at the position.
Colorado’s first basemen ranked 29th in OPS last season. Michael Toglia “led” the way with a .592 mark in 329 plate appearances. The former first-round pick opened the season as the everyday starter. Toglia struck out nearly 40% of the time through two months and found himself back in Triple-A before the end of May.
Warming Bernabel looked like a possible answer after a ridiculous start to his career. The 23-year-old piled up 14 hits, including three home runs, in his first seven games. It went downhill pretty quickly from there. Bernabel finished the year with a 78 wRC+ and was outrighted off the roster in December.
No other Colorado bat reached 60 plate appearances at first base. A hodgepodge of Kyle Farmer, Orlando Arcia, Keston Hiura, and Blaine Crim filled in after Toglia was sent down. Crim is the only one of the group still on the roster (more on him in a bit). Here’s a rundown of the Rockies’ options at the position…
A waiver claim is the leading candidate to occupy the first base role, which might say something about the position battle. Johnston was scooped from the Marlins in early November. The move came shortly before DePodesta was announced as the new top executive, so it’s unclear who actually executed it.
Johnston was solid in his first foray into the big leagues, posting a 109 wRC+ across 121 plate appearances last season. While he’s often been old for each level, the 28-year-old also has a strong minor league track record. Johnston slashed .307/.399/.549 in 134 games between Double-A and Triple-A in 2023. He’s put up 23 home runs and 48 steals at Triple-A the past two years.
Blaine Crim
The 28-year-old Crim should at least be the right-handed complement to Johnston to begin the season. He went 0-for-11 with the Rangers last year, but found some success with Colorado after getting claimed off waivers. Crim popped five home runs in 15 games with the Rockies. The power production also came with a 36.1% strikeout rate.
Crim has taken a similar path to Johnston. He’s put up solid minor league numbers across multiple seasons, but has typically been older than the competition. Crim hit .284 with 18 home runs over 83 games at Triple-A last year before leaving the Rangers’ organization. He wasn’t nearly as productive in the minors with Colorado, though.
T.J. Rumfield
Julien is likely ticketed for the second base job, but the other aforementioned trade acquisition could factor into this race. Colorado sent reliever Angel Chivilli to New York in exchange for Rumfield. The 25-year-old slashed .285/.378/.447 at Triple-A in 2025. He’s delivered a 116 wRC+ or better in both stints at the highest minor league level.
Rumfield has already compiled 252 games at Triple-A, so there isn’t much left for him to prove. He’s in MLB camp as a non-roster invitee. A decent spring would go a long way toward challenging for a roster spot.
The third overall pick in the 2024 draft will likely have this job someday, but it might not be as soon as Rockies fans would want. The 22-year-old maxed out at Double-A in his first full professional season. He put up a 132 wRC+ at the level, so it’s hard to argue with the production, though some time spent in Triple-A is likely on the horizon.
Condon had an .820 OPS at three minor league stops last season, but the 70-grade power hasn’t shown up just yet. He finished with 14 home runs in 433 plate appearances last year.
A Free Agent Signing
DePodesta didn’t rule out another addition, and a handful of veterans remain available. Assuming the left-handed Johnston has at least a platoon role, that rules out Rowdy Tellez. Wilmer Flores, Rhys Hoskins, and Donovan Solano are right-handed options who could be had for a reasonable price. The 41-year-old Justin Turner probably won’t be signing up for part-time work on a rebuilding team.
Photo courtesy of Ron Chenoy, Imagn Images
Hoskin makes a ton of sense until CC can join the ranks and even then, still a perfect fit. Dude may make a resurgence in CO
Hoskins on a one year deal for maybe $3 million. Condon is probably a whole year out, but that doesn’t mean they can’t flip Hoskins on July anyway.
Hoskins is one of the guys who may also see a slight statiscal bump with ABS in place if it makes umps more conservative. Rhys is still an on-base machine.
Ryan Mountcastle is available for nothing
That was my thought. He could jack 40 for the Rockies and it would cost some A ball pitcher
Colorado isn’t really a homer park anymore, people don’t seem to realize that. Maybe a slightly higher batting average and a few more doubles
That would be because of the height of the wall. Colorado did not just stop being a HR park. They adjusted it.
It is still the highest on Statcast Park Factors for offense and its not really close (like by 10%). Still has a rating over 100 for HR. The air is still going to make it harder to pitch there. And Mountcastle has hit 30+ before I think with his RH pop and Colorados dimensions it would suit him well.
Camden Yards is no longer the hitters haven it once was.
Trade For Tyler Black in Milwaukee. He’s blocked but he’s ready. Great patience at the plate, left handed bat with good contact tool, good speed, gets on base can steal bags, A reliable right handed reliever should be enough to pry him from the Brewers, he’s a great change of scenery candidate. Maybe Juan Mejia for Tyler Black?
Juan Mejia? Reliable? Since when
Warming Bernabel sounds like the best choice. None of these guys are going to be good anyway and the team sucks. Might as well go with a fun name.
He’s with the Nats now.
Kris Bryant has got to be one of the biggest busts ever
That said, if they need a 1B seems pretty obvious they should sign Hoskins
I’m betting Triston Casas could be had from Boston if you have enough to offer that they are willing to give up. Could be really good at Coors Field
He’s outa rox price range. They plan on finishing last for a while
Hoskins or Tellez. Both bring power for cheap but neither is particularly good defensively
Skip the free agents, lets see Rumfield, Crim and Johnston.
Why? So that 2026 can be just as much a waste as 2025? Most of the rookies that the Rockies auditioned in 2025 are either no longer with the team or projected to be back in the minors this year. They need to find actual big league talent to play for their actual big league team.
Someone in the state of Colorado can play first base I just know it.
Being a 1b for my beer league softball team that hasn’t played baseball in 25 years, I’ll throw my name in the hat for Rox 1b.
Zakis, I played first base on my Little League team in 1968. I’m rested and ready for phase two of my baseball career.
I would love to see Hoskins bounce back and hit 40 in Colorado before Condon comes up
I have a sad feeling that the Rockies are going to screw up Condon and Holliday and Dollander because of how bad their management is
Took condon a pick before nick kurtz.
Just as almost every other club, including the A’s, would have done. Most were projecting Condon as going even higher than he did.
I wanted reds to take condon. His last year of college stats were unreal, along with so many others that season ! There was a slew of power bats. Thank god reds took burns though!
And hiflew, A’s have a track record of drafting players much higher than projected then being right in their pick. My bet is they was takin Kurtz the whole time
Two words…Andres Galarraga. Find him. Sign him. He’s only 64.
Go get Johnathan Long from the Cubs, they don’t have a spot for him