The Rockies got some outfield help from a division rival on Saturday.
Colorado acquired outfielder Jake McCarthy from the Diamondbacks in exchange for minor league pitcher Josh Grosz, the teams announced.
McCarthy, 28, struggled in 2025 with a .204 average and .591 OPS in 67 games and spent a good chunk of the season — from late April to late June — with Triple-A Reno.
But at his best, he gives the Rockies great speed and versatility to play any position in the outfield, which could be a big advantage in the vast expanses of Coors Field.
According to Baseball Savant, McCarthy ranked in the 99th percentile in sprint speed in 2025 and posted five outs above average in 2024.
McCarthy, a first-round pick out of Arizona in 2018, turned in a strong first full season four years later when he hit .283/.342/.427 for 23 stolen bases. He finished fourth in the National League Rookie of the Year voting.
Over his career, he has hit .260 with an OPS+ of 96 – four points below league average.
The Rockies previously added veteran right-hander Michael Lorenzen on a reported a one-year, $8 million contract this week.
Colorado is trying to turn its fortunes around after flirting with baseball opprobrium last season with a 43-119 record. Hoping to improve their front office, the Rockies have poached former Mets executive Paul DePodesta from the NFL’s Browns to take over the team’s baseball operations.
He hadn’t worked in baseball since 2015.
“It’s not up to me to decide where I come in from the outside and say, ‘I have the answers, here they are,’” DePodesta told reporters at the fall GM meetings. “But I’m very curious to see if we all come together as an organization and decide what we want to be. And then stick to that, and figure out how we’re actually going to implement it, and how we’re going to achieve that.”
#Rockies #Diamondbacks #making #interesting #trades #divisions