This afternoon at 4:00 PM MST was the deadline for teams to protect players from the Rule 5 Draft by placing them on the 40-man roster. As he began rebuilding the Colorado Rockies in earnest, president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta took a series of steps.
- Acquired left-handed pitcher Brennan Bernardino from the Boston Red Sox in exchange for outfielder Braiden Ward.
- Chosen to sign left-handed pitcher Welinton Herrera (No. 21 PuRP).
- Selected the contract of right-handed pitcher Gabriel Hughes (No. 11 PuRP).
- Chosen for the contract of outfielder Sterlin Thompson (No. 18 PuRP).
- Designated left-handed pitcher Ryan Rolison for assignment.
- Designated infielder Michael Toglia for assignment.
The trade with the Red Sox was unexpected and was for DePodesta first baseball trade in twenty years.
Left-handed pitcher Brenan Bernardino has worked primarily as a middle reliever. The 33-year-old has a 3.47 ERA (155.2 IP, 60 ER), one save, 68 walks and 157 strikeouts in 169 Major League games (12 starts) over parts of four seasons with Seattle (2022) and Boston (2023-25).
In 2025, he earned a 3.14 ERA (51.2 IP, 18 ER), one save, 26 walks and 43 strikeouts in 55 games (three starts) with the Red Sox. Bernardino was especially effective against lefties, holding them to .211/.276/.336. Statcast shows it has a four-pitch mix including a sinker, curveball, cutter and slider.
The native of Valencia, California, was originally drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the 26th round of the 2014 First-Year Player Draft out of California State University Dominguez Hills.
The Rockies have struggled to find consistent lefty relievers and are hoping Bernardino can address that bullpen shortage.
Evan Lang wrote about Ward in August. He was the Colorado Rockies 2021 MLB Draft 16th round pick and an alumnus of the University of Washington.
Ward got caught up in a farm system with outfield options drafted in front of him. He spent 2025 with the Double-A Hartford Yard Goats and the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes. A speedy utility outfielder, Ward hit 290/.395/.391 in 307 plate appearances this season with 61 strikeouts and 35 walks. Ward’s plate approach was to get on base and let his legs do the talking. He stole 57 bases and threw four triples.
The 21-year-old lefty pitcher played 157 games (including one start) during his Minor League career. From 2021-2025, he has earned a 3.27 ERA (214.2 IP, 78 ER), walking 88 and striking out 309.
Herrera spent the 2025 season with High-A Spokane and Double-A Hartford, posting a 2.64 ERA (64.2 IP, 19 ER), 17 saves and 99 strikeouts in 52 relief appearances. He finished the season with the fourth most saves of any Minor League pitcher
He also started collecting accolades. He was named to the 2025 MLB Futures Game and pitched for Salt River in the Arizona Fall League, where he went 0-1 with one save and a 2.00 ERA (9.0 IP, 2 ER) and 14 strikeouts in nine appearances.
The Rockies signed Herrera as an undrafted international free agent on January 20, 2021.
The Rockies’ 2022 first-round draft pick struggled with injuries but started to find his groove in 2025 after recovering from Tommy John surgery.
The 24-year-old righty has a 4.89 ERA (175.0 IP, 95 ER), 65 walks and 172 strikeouts in 39 starts in the Minor Leagues from 2022-25.
In 2025, he made 24 starts between Triple-A Albuquerque (14 GS), Double-A Hartford (9 GS) and the ACL Rockies (1 GS). In those games, he earned a 4.19 ERA (105.1 IP, 49 ER).
There were questions about whether the Rockies would protect Thompson, but DePodesta answered them today.
Thompson, 24, played in 359 games in the Minor Leagues from 2022 to 2025, slashing .279/.360/.459 with 218 runs, 138 extra-base hits and 44 stolen bases. He spent 2025 with the Isotopes, batting .296 (130-for-439) with 28 doubles, eight triples, 18 home runs and a .911 OPS in 120 games. In fact, he finished the season tied for the second-most triples of any Triple-A player.
The University of Florida Gator was selected by Colorado in the C1 round (31st overall) of the 2022 MLB Draft.
LHP Ryan Rolison and 1BMichael Toglia
The decision to select LHP Rolison and 1B Toglia in the first round wasn’t surprising considering their struggles. (Read Rolison’s 2025 analysis here and Toglia’s here.)
With these moves, the Rockies have a full 40-man roster and the Paul DePodesta era has begun.
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