Wednesday Rockpile: The Rockies need more improvement at four specific positions

Colorado Rockies news and links for Wednesday, January 22, 2025

The Colorado Rockies have been in a difficult situation since their back-to-back playoff seasons. It’s no mystery that dysfunction behind the scenes and an overall lack of robust talent at the big league level has left them comfortably at the bottom of the league’s standings. While there have certainly been highlights in the last six seasons, there have been plenty of lows.

It’s an ongoing battle to field a complete lineup of contributing players and the Rockies have seen how difficult it is to get production out of their roster, specifically at a few spots as evidenced by this graphic from BrooksGate on X.

Among all MLB teams since 2020, the Rockies have four positions that rank in that bottom 15 per fWAR, including a tie with themselves. The silver lining is that only one of the positions is worth negative fWAR, but it displays an inability for the team to get production out of some key spots.

Catcher (1.8 fWAR)

Photo by Kyle Cooper/Colorado Rockies/Getty Images

Since 2020, the Rockies have had some relative stability behind the dish thanks largely in part to Elias Díaz. Since the Rockies during the shortened 2020 season, Díaz took over a larger role halfway through the year and became the primary starter until he was released in August 2024.

The Rockies have used nine other catchers during this stretch of time, equating to a 0.1 fWAR. As the chart below indicates, the catching position has been difficult for the Rockies to fill.

The re-signing of Jacob Stallings is reflective of the fact is the second most valuable catcher the team has employed over the last five seasons. However, his success also came due to the fact he didn’t have to shoulder the responsibility of catching every single game. The Rockies likely understand this and while he will get a bulk of playing time in 2025, the team must figure out their tandem partner.

Hunter Goodman and Drew Romo will enter the Thunderdome during spring training, aiming to serve as the second catcher on the roster. Both have limited exposure at the big league level behind the dish and feature two sides of the same coin. Goodman has the power potential, but many aspects of his offensive profile are lacking, and he is average behind the plate. Romo is theoretically the better defender with a solid bat potential, but his inexperience showed in his brief 2024 sample size and the team was frightened by his admittedly awkward throws back to the pitcher.

2025 will be the season where the Rockies try to sort out their catching situation for the future. Romo and Goodman are at the top of the depth chart but they are trailed closely by Braxton Fulford in Triple-A, and the team added veteran receiver Austin Nola on a minor league deal and a slew of other options are moving their way up, including 2024 draft pick Cole Messina.

Second Base (1.8 fWAR)

Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images

Since D.J. LeMahieu’s departure following the 2018 season, second base has been an interesting spot for the Rockies. Ryan McMahon held down the spot for a few years until eventually slotting in at his natural third base position to fill a void left by Nolan Arenado. Brendan Rodgers was always supposed to be the answer at the top of the infield but injuries hindered his timetable and the Rockies only got three full-ish seasons out of him.

He was still the most valuable and productive player in the position when healthy, but that is mostly buoyed by a strong 2021 campaign in which he accumulated 1.2 fWAR and 1.8 fWAR during a fantastic 2022 campaign. However, he’s a free agent after the Rockies released him this offseason, leaving them to once again try to fill in without him on the field.

For some odd reason, McMahon could never quite hit his stride offensively when playing second base, but he’s locked in at third base full-time now. In Rodgers’s absence during the last five seasons, the Rockies have been forced to extensively start players better suited for utility bench roles. Harold Castro, Alan Trejo and Garrett Hampson are all fine players in their own rights, but their flaws were on display the more exposure they got. Aaron Schunk has the potential to start more, but he now appears to be fighting for a bench role at the minimum while the team is hoping to see how prospects Ryan Ritter and Adael Amador develop in 2025.

In the meantime, Thairo Estrada will be the primary second baseman in 2025 as the team hopes he can rebound offensively after an injury-ridden season and continue stellar defense. Additionally, the team has added the likes of Kyle Farmer to serve as a bench utility to support Estrada. Both have promise to boost the position for the time being, but the team needs its depth and prospects to start panning out.

First Base (0.6 fWAR)

Photo by Jess Rapfogel/Getty Images

For 17 years the Rockies enjoyed the presence of Hall of Famer Todd Helton at first base. Since his retirement after the 2013 season, the position has become a revolving door of various characters. Since 2020 the team has seen 16 players appear at first base, with three players taking the bulk of the playing time.

C.J. Cron leads the group with a 3.9 fWAR over his three seasons with the Rockies from 2021-23. The Cron Zone was an All-Star, hit 58 home runs and drove in 194 runs while playing some passable defense. The backup players at first not named Cron haven’t seen as much success and after the failed Elehuris Montero and Kris Bryant experiments, the problem may have been solved, at least for the time being, in the form of Michael Toglia.

Toglia may have 0.0 fWAR, but in 2024, his first real stint as the primary first baseman, he put up a 0.3 fWAR, his first positive mark. Now, there is still a lot of work to do for the switch-hitting slugger, specifically in the strikeout department, but his 25 home runs and his superb defense at first base are brimming with hope. Bryant and Farmer will serve as utility backups at first base as needed, but the expectation is that Toglia will man first base as often as possible.

Still, the team has added depth in the minors in the form of Owen Miller and Keston Hiura, both of whom can play first base but have left a lot to be desired offensively.

Right Field (-2.3 fWAR)

Photo by George Kubas/Diamond Images via Getty Images

Lastly, we come to right field, the third-worst position group in all of baseball over the last five seasons. 23 different players have logged innings in right field for the Rockies (including Kyle Freeland), but this group fWAR consists of the 21 players who have taken an at-bat in the position.

Charlie Blackmon leads the way with a 0.6 fWAR, despite moving into a part-time outfield role as the primary designated hitter. Still, Blackmon was aging and his production declining while he dealt with injuries from time to time. This left the Rockies to plug a number of players into the corner spot.

Randal Grichuk was adequate over his two seasons in Colorado, but the Rockies have continually been in the process of solving right field. Jake Cave performed well enough last season, but he fits into the description I expressed earlier of a player who is better suited for a bench role but is starting more than he should.

The team also keeps trying to make Bryant the right fielder a thing but his health leaves many things to question as well as the fact that he isn’t that good of a defender in the first place. Heading into 2025, the Rockies seemed determined to allow Jordan Beck the chance to make the spot his own, but his struggles last season could still leave doubt. That would leave the team to give Sam Hilliard more time, another player who blossomed from embracing his fourth outfielder role that occasionally starts and pinch hit. He improved last season, but should the Rockies honestly bank on him starting more considering his history and offensive profile?

There are a slew of other outfield prospects looking to make it to the big leagues this season, including Zac Veen and Yanquiel Fernandez, making right field a prime position to keep an eye on this year.

Closing thoughts

In looking at these charts you can gain an understanding of why the Rockies focus on depth and want to improve their bench. Outside of the primary player at these positions (Cron, Rodgers, Blackmon, Díaz) the Rockies have garnered little to no support from their reinforcements and alternatives. They can blame injuries all they want, but the quality of reinforcements for when players are injured or depart is a lack of ingenuity upon which the blame rests solely on the Rockies.

How the bench shakes out for the Rockies is going to be of the utmost interest heading into spring training and the reinforcements the Rockies call upon from the minors during the season will also be an intriguing storyline throughout the season.

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Talented INF Suero among Rockies international signings | MLB.com

The Rockies have signed several international prospects (Evan Lang will introduce them to you soon) among the top names in Larry Suero, a 16-year-old middle infielder. Jesse Borek gives a quick breakdown for MLB.com.

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