Colorado Rockies news and links for Friday, February 14, 2025
On several occasions, the Rockies have been known to misjudge reality.
From Dick Monfort saying the 2023 Rockies could be a .500 team to giving Kris Bryant a 7-year, $182 million deal in 2022 to failing to re-sign DJ LeMahieu and inking Daniel Murphy for the same price the Yankees gave LeMahieu (two years for $24 million) in 2019, some of their words and actions truly are head-scratchers.
That’s why it can be sometimes tough to take projections and predictions from the front office very seriously. Montfort has become pretty infamous for his prognostications at the Northern Colorado Friends of Baseball Breakfast preceding each season. This year, as reported by Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post, Montfort said he would hold off on predictions, but did say, “The infield, quite honestly — and if you like defense, (and) I like defense — will be the best defense, maybe in the history of the game.”
While that’s very optimistic, it’s also delusional. Sure, the Rockies defense could be pretty good. However, it’s pretty hard to believe how a team that didn’t change much from 2024, when they were pretty average defensively, is now not only going to be the best in Major League Baseball, but also the best of all-time.
In 2024, the Rockies finished No. 14 in The Fielding Bible’s total defensive runs saved (DRS) with 20 (compared to No. 1 Toronto’s 102). In FanGraphs defensive runs above average (DEF), the Rockies were 18th in MLB at -3.3 (compared to No. 1 Toronto’s 40.5. In stronger finishes, the Rockies were 10th in outs above average (OAA) at nine (compared to No. 1 Kansas City’s 39), No. 6 in ultimate zone rating (UZR) at 18.3 (compared to No. 1 Toronto’s 28.1) and turned the most double plays in all of baseball at 164. For more details, Purple Row’s Renee Dechert broke down the team fielding stats in September.
So what makes 2025 so much better? Let’s start with the infield. At Rockies Fest on Jan. 25, Colorado GM Bill Schmidt was high on the group’s talent, even if he didn’t go as far as Monfort.
“I think defensively our infield is going to be — I’ll match it up with anybody in the game,” Schmidt said. “When the ball is in play, the anticipation is we’re going to catch it and we’re going to turn it into an out.”
Back-to-back Gold Glover Ezequiel Tovar played 156 games at shortstop in 2024, McMahon played 149 games at third base, Michael Toglia played 100 at first base, and Jacob Stallings played 66 at catcher. They are all back with Toglia and Stallings likely to see more time in 2025. Plus, Toglia did flash potential with the glove last season.
The biggest difference is that Brendan Rodgers, the 2022 Gold Glove winner at second base who played 124 games at second for Colorado in 2024, is gone. In his place is Thairo Estrada, who the Rockies officially signed in January after Estrada became a free agent after four years with the Giants.
Both Rodgers and Estrada are 28 years old and have six years in MLB. Rodgers has the hardware and career stats that say he’s a better fielder than Estrada. However, Rodgers’ numbers seem to be trending down a bit, while Estrada’s are up.
Estrada also has the benefit of being a utility player who can also play third, shortstop and anywhere in the outfield. Rodgers has only played second and short. Estrada could end up being a defensive upgrade from Rodgers in 2025, but not enough for a monumental shift.
Statistics aside, McMahon has also expressed his pride in the infield’s ability to be an elite unit.
“We’re all each other’s biggest fans, right? We’re just kind of out there having fun with the boys, but there’s a lot of accountability,” McMahon said at RockiesFest, noting how players work on not making the same mistake twice. “We have meetings every month. We go over every single thing that every guy did, good and bad. It’s just about addressing it right, knowing that we’re holding ourselves to a higher standard, you know?”
There is a lot of good in the 2025 Rockies defensive lineup. When it comes to Ultimate Zone Rating (UZR), the Rockies took No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 in all of baseball on the individual leaderboard last year with Brenton Doyle second at 11.4, Tovar third at 11.2 and McMahon fourth at 9.7.
In the outfield, Doyle returns for this third season in center field, fresh off his first Gold Glove in 2024 when he played 142 games in CF for the Rockies. Often times, the large outfield at Coors Field is seen as a disadvantage that makes sneaking in singles and dropping in doubles easier for hitters. It can even be seen as a liability for injury through wear and tear running across the vast acreage. That’s not how Doyle sees it though.
“It’s no surprise we have one more intimidating outfields in the entire league, just talking around with other guys in the league. They hate to play outfield here,” Doyle said at Rockies Fest. “It’s a lot of work, but I kind of use that as my advantage. I think you know, if you master the Coors outfield here, then whenever you go to these other ballparks, it makes it that much easier. I always look at it as an advantage, not a disadvantage, and it’s been fun.”
With Jake Cave gone and Charlie Blackmon retired, the Rockies have space to make the outfield better in 2025. Nolan Jones’ arm can be deadly to runners, but he also tends to make significant errors. Sam Hilliard is more steady and also has a great arm. With Doyle’s extraordinary range, even competent corner outfielders could upgrade the Rockies defense.
It’s hard to imagine that the Rockies defense can live up to Monfort’s outrageous notions in 2025, but hopefully, they can at least improve from 2024.
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‘I feel so good, man’: Healthy Márquez ready to lead Rockies rotation | MLB.com
Germán Márquez is back and feeling good. Thinking about him leading the rotation this year is definitely a reason to be excited about the Rockies in 2025.
Rockies spring training after dark: Notes from Salt River Fields (13 February 2025) | Purple Row
Renee Dechert is back with another post as spring training ramps up for pitchers and catchers.
Now that a Trevor Story-Nolan Arenado reunion in Boston is off the table thanks to the Red Sox signing Alex Bregman on Wednesday, it looks like the former Rockies third baseman will remain a Cardinal for now.
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