The Rockies are coming off a 119-loss season, which stands as one of the worst seasons in modern baseball history. The team’s starting pitching was a key factor in that poor performance. In 2025, Rockies starters had a 6.65 ERA, a league-worst 7.4% K-BB rate, and allowed a league-worst 1.79 HR/9. It is therefore unsurprising that Rockies president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta identified the rotation as “an era of focus” for his newly-hired front office.
“We would like to add some stability to the rotation,” said DePodesta in a phone interview with Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post. “I think that’s obvious … given our current situation.” He went on to say that the team will consider trading from their bullpen and outfield depth to acquire starters, while also counting on improvement from existing starters. Referring to his coaching staff, DePodesta said, “Given the sheer manpower we have allocated to the pitching side, there’s definitely room for improvement with the players we have.”
The comments come across as generic boilerplate. As is well-known, Rockies pitchers have the challenge of playing half the season at high altitude. Dating back to 2021, the club’s starters have posted a league-worst 5.60 ERA and 28.3 fWAR, including a mere 1.5 fWAR in 2025. Its top starters this year by innings pitched were Kyle Freeland, Germán Márquez, and Antonio Senzatela. Freeland was once an above-average starter but logged a 4.98 ERA in 162 2/3 innings this year, including a 5.75 mark at home. Though he remains onboard as the nominal “ace,” he will play 2026 at age 33 and is unlikely to recover his old form.
Márquez had a nightmarish 6.70 ERA in 126 1/3 innings in 2025, with a well-below-average strikeout rate of 14.0%. He is now a free agent and unlikely to be re-signed. Meanwhile, Senzatela’s 11.8% strikeout rate was a career-low. He was demoted to the bullpen for the last month of the year and won’t be guaranteed a rotation spot in 2026. Chase Dollander and Tanner Gordon were the only other Rockies starters to reach 60 innings this year, and they both had ERAs in the mid-6.00s and struggled with the long ball.
Given those struggles, it’s hardly a surprise that DePodesta wants to make upgrades. Of course, that’s easier said than done. Colorado is an unlikely destination for free agent starters who do not want to see their stats decline from pitching at Coors. Indeed, the only major-league free agent starting pitchers to sign with the Rockies since 2021 are Chad Kuhl, José Ureña, and Dakota Hudson. All three signed for one year and were reclamation projects at best. Ureña, whose $3.5MM contract in November 2022 was the highest value of the bunch, only made five starts for the Rockies in 2023 before being released that April.
The team faces a similar problem in attempting to add starting pitchers via trade. Potential partners can use the Rockies’ home-field disadvantage and need for pitching to gain leverage in trade talks. Dating back to 2021, most of the Rockies’ starting pitching acquisitions have been low-level trades and cash transactions. Arguably the highest-profile acquisition was that of Cal Quantrill in November 2024. He threw 186 1/3 innings with a 3.38 ERA for the Guardians in 2023 but struggled badly in 2024 and was recently designated for assignment when he came to Colorado. With a disadvantage in trade talks, the club is forced to lean heavily on internal options for starting pitching.
While teams obviously want to get all the value they can from their existing players, the current rotation led by Freeland doesn’t inspire much confidence. For his part, DePodesta expressed confidence in his new pitching coaches, but also acknowledged that internal improvement is only part of the equation. A trade involving outfielders or relievers might be difficult to pull off. Center fielder Brenton Doyle is unlikely to be traded, while top relievers Jimmy Herget and Juan Mejia were good in 2025 but have minimal track records otherwise. The team could give young lefty Carson Palmquist a bigger look, but he struggled badly with control and home runs in his debut this year. Meanwhile, the Rockies have two prospects among MLB.com’s Top 100 list, neither of whom are pitchers.
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Photo courtesy of Ron Chenoy, Imagn Images
