Wednesday Rockpile: My offseason attempt as Rockies general manager

Colorado Rockies President of Baseball Operations Paul DePodesta has a lot on his plate as he tries to turn things around in Denver. That makes the news that he will most likely hire a general manager under him such a welcome thought. Delegating and working with another individual to execute the vision will hopefully bring about some change for the Colorado Rockies, but which person he will hire remains a mystery.

So why don’t I try it?

I like the challenge of building a squad to win. I narrowly lost the championship game of my fantasy baseball league this year (thank you very much to teams for resting some of their best players the last two days of the season). I also regularly build playoff-caliber teams in MLB The Show’s franchise mode and play in Out of the Park Baseball’s spreadsheet simulator on my computer.

After taking over as a freshly minted GM after the disastrous 2025 season in Out of the Park Baseball 26, I was ready to spend the offseason trying to fix the Rockies and build a winner as quickly as possible. Being a video game simulation, there are plenty of freedoms taken away from me and the game regarding transactions and personnel. I only worked until the start of spring training, so let’s see how my offseason went.

One of the first things I had to do was build a big league coaching staff. Because I thought he was a quality guy for the official position, I stayed with Warren Schaeffer as manager. Schaeffer has a good relationship with the players in the clubhouse and it seemed only natural that he was given the opportunity to take the lead from the start.

As for the rest of the staff, I opted for a more nostalgic approach just for fun. Due to his reputation as a leader during his playing career and his experience as manager of the 18U Team USA team, I have hired Michael Cuddyer as the bench coach.

Looking for experienced pitching help at Coors Field, I hired Aaron Cook to share his expertise as a pitching coach. Cook appeared as a guest advisor throughout the season, so why not have him on board full-time? As for the hitting coach, I went a little more out of the box and brought in Jason Giambi to hopefully spark the offense with some power and maybe even use special underwear to break up slumps.

To help with the infield, Clint Barmes was brought in as first base coach. The only outside hire was Mike Freeman who coached third base. Freeman was a big league utility player and has been the manager of the Seattle Mariners’ Double-A affiliate since 2023.

November Waiver Frenzy and transactions

With a staff in place, I was ready to start working on the schedule. Because the Rockies had the worst record in baseball, they were given top priority on the waiver wire, which meant I had my pick of available players who had been kicked off their team’s 40-man roster.

I went heavy on pitching in that initial waiver claim frenzy and managed to snag the following players:

Of course, due to the influx of players, I had to make room on the 40-man roster myself. One of my first steps was releasing the oft-injured Kris Bryant and veteran arm Antonio Senzatela. Additionally, I decided to release Jeff Criswell because I felt I couldn’t wait to see how he recovered from his injury, even though he was eventually signed by the Los Angeles Angels.

In addition to the exemption claims, I have made a number of trades to free up some space. Michael Toglia was shipped to Miami for a trio of prospects: starting pitcher Emmett Olson, shortstop Cam Clayton and reliever Will Schomberg.

Additionally, to my surprise, the Texas Rangers actually came calling and offered third baseman Josh Jung and potential catcher Cal Stark in exchange for Tyler Freeman. I wasn’t planning on getting extra help at third base, but it seemed like a tough deal to pass up.

When arbitration came around, I negotiated relatively cheap deals with Jimmy Herget ($2.7 million), Ryan Feltner ($3 million), Brenton Doyle ($1.86 million), Mickey Moniak ($3.86 million), and Bauers ($2.42 million). Although deals had been made, none of the players were necessarily safe to make it to 2026.

On December 10, I signed a deal with Tampa Bay. I would acquire starting pitcher Shane Baz and reliever Mason Englert, and in return I would send Doyle to the Rays. I was hesitant to trade Doyle because the market didn’t necessarily have many decent center field options, but I was given a mandate to improve the pitching. I would take my chances to find a midfielder and take the chance to get a quality starter in Baz. I then signed Baz to a three-year extension worth $26.8 million, buying out his arbitration years on a cost-controlled scale.

Not much else happened in December. The Winter Meetings came and went, and I declined to select anyone in the Rule-5 Draft because there wasn’t really anything of value available. I had arranged for minor league free agents to be handled by the minor league managers, and they did sign a handful of free agents, but nothing to report.

The new year and the search for a midfielder

As January dawned, I found my search for a new midfielder to replace Doyle a little more difficult than I expected. The free agent market was devoid of players who could be seen as an upgrade, and trade offers I was looking for didn’t yield fruitful conversations. While minor league free agents continued to sign as well as international free agents, I continued to see help on the fringes where I could.

I signed pitcher Aaron Civale to a minor league contract with a major league option to serve as starting depth. I also made another trade, this time with the Milwaukee Brewers. The Brewers had tendered utility player Tyler Black for Braxton Fulford and 18-year-old minor league right-hander Jhoan Espinoza.

I saved myself a little money and then traded Bauers to the Baltimore Orioles to get outfielder Dylan Carlson. Being the cunning fox that I am, the Orioles agreed to keep 100% of Carlson’s contract. He could play as a midfielder without much problem, but his bat is a concern. He will be there, but my task was not yet completed.

I then signed Dominic Fletcher to a split contract in hopes that maybe he could find a way to translate his Triple-A production to the major leagues. Outfielders Akil Baddoo and Bryan De La Cruz also joined the outfield mix, but they are only on minor league deals with invitations to spring training. I found I had to mix and match in the outfield when spring training rolled around and see what sticks, all the while hoping Cole Carrigg could be ready sooner rather than later.

Free Agent Splash and Surprise Waiver Claims

As you’ll notice, I didn’t do much with big free agents, but that wasn’t for lack of trying. Initially, I had offered Bo Bichette an eight-year contract worth over $200 million, but he turned it down and ultimately signed with Texas for an eight-year, $379.5 million contract with an opt-out after three years, a concept I had initially offered in my proposal.

I had also offered Jorge Polanco a two-year deal worth $36 million, with the idea that he would become my permanent DH. Unfortunately, he opted to stay with Seattle on a four-year, $34 million deal.

However, I did have one big free agent under my belt when I acquired Rhys Hoskins on a three-year, $30.6 million contract. He had a bit of a down year in 2025, but I hope he can use Coors Field to boost the offense and hit a lot of home runs.

Hoskins wasn’t my only big signing, as Royce Lewis was available on waivers from the Minnesota Twins for some reason. If he could stay healthy, he would be a steal for my offense and get time at third base. Reliever Marc Church was also on waivers from the Rangers, and I was able to get him easily.

Signing Hoskins suddenly gave me a glut of first basemen again, especially since Black was now listed as the first baseman. Because I liked the idea of ​​keeping the southpaw as an option to platoon with Hoskins if necessary, I sent Crim to Texas for a prospect package along with Herget. In return, the Rockies received outfielder Keith Jones II, left-handed pitcher Josh Trentadue and catcher Tucker Mitchell. I also had to make room for the 40 man to add Lew and Church, which led to Anthony Molina being DFA. I was hoping to get him through waivers, but he was claimed by Tampa Bay.

One final move before spring training came in the form of a waiver claim from Jack Leiter to add to the pitching mix. The former first-round pick still has potential even after a difficult time establishing himself in Texas, and I hope he can realize more of his potential under my new Rockies regime.

Overall, I’d say I had a fairly successful offseason in building my roster. There are definitely still some flaws, as that outfield situation still concerns me, and I haven’t touched second base. Still, in terms of total WAR added, the Rockies finished the offseason in second place with 7.7 WAR gained, just behind the New York Yankees with 8.2 WAR.

Perhaps if interested, I’ll return to the 2026 season in another article. I’ll admit that my actions weren’t very realistic, but all things considered, this is a team that has upgraded its pitching, especially the rotation, and added an interesting mix of position players. Maybe, just maybe, it will be enough to convince DePodesta to consider this humble writer as the next Rockies GM.

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