The Rockies made a pair of additions in the first base department in late January. The club added Edouard Julien in a trade with the Twins, then picked up T.J. Rumfield in a deal with the Yankees. Even after bringing in two first base options in one day, president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta didn't close the door on more acquisitions at the position.
The Twins have traded infielder Edouard Julien and right-hander Pierson Ohl to the Rockies, according to announcements from both clubs. Minor league right-hander Jace Kaminska and cash considerations are going to the Twins. The Rockies freed up two 40-man spots earlier today by trading Angel Chivilli to the Yankees and designating Yanquiel Fernandez for assignment.
Weigel, 31, made four big league appearances a few years ago. One of those came with Atlanta in 2020 and three with Milwaukee in 2021. Put together, he allowed four earned runs in 4 2/3 innings via six hits, seven walks and one hit-by-pitch while striking out nine opponents. The Brewers outrighted him off the roster in 2021. Since then, he has been bouncing around professional baseball by playing in the minor leagues, indy ball and the Mexican League.
DENVER -- The Colorado Rockies have acquired outfielder Jake McCarthy from the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for minor league pitcher Josh Grosz, the teams announced Saturday. McCarthy, 28, played five seasons with the Diamondbacks and finished fourth in the National League Rookie of the Year voting in 2022 after hitting .283 with eight homers, 43 RBIs and 23 stolen bases.
The Rockies are looking for a few veterans to eat innings in their rotation, general manager Josh Byrnes tells Thomas Harding of MLB.com. "We've played out scenarios where we would attempt to bring in two guys who can stabilize that area - who can not only pitch well but know how to give us some bulk innings, which any team needs," Byrnes said.
Sullivan is a depth option behind the plate. He has appeared in the big leagues in each of the past three seasons. He made it into 33 games for the Padres in 2023 but has been limited to 10 combined appearances in the last two years. The 31-year-old (32 in February) has hit .204 with a .250 on-base percentage and two home runs in 112 career plate appearances.
The Rockies announced the hiring of former MLB first baseman Brett Pill as their hitting coach. The 41-year-old joins Warren Schaeffer's staff after six seasons with the Dodgers. Pill had spent three years as a Double-A hitting coach in the L.A. system before getting a promotion to minor league hitting coordinator in 2023. Pill is best known for his three-year stint playing in MLB for the Giants. He appeared in 111 games between 2011-13.
The Rockies are starting from scratch, and new baseball ops leaders Paul DePodesta and Josh Byrnes have a long list of issues to address. It'll be a yearslong process, but in the short term, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post writes that it's "likely" the team will bring in some short-term help at first base or second base.
The fact that Colorado is the last Offseason Outlook entry published (even after the World Series teams) speaks to the unusual length of the team's front office search. The free agent market opened yesterday, and the leaderless baseball operations department has already been making some transactions since the World Series officially ended, though the decisions to decline mutual options on Thairo Estrada and Kyle Farmer were both routine and expected.
While Diamondbacks assistant GM Amiel Sawdaye and Guardians assistant GM Matt Forman both emerged as finalists for the job in recent weeks, today a report from Jon Heyman of the New York Post suggests that, at least for the time being, neither Sawdaye or Forman appear poised to be named the Rockies' head of baseball operations.
THE 47,394 FANS gathered at Coors Field were on their feet. They were excited. They were loud. And the team most of them were there to see was closing in on a tight victory. The only problem? It was the visiting Chicago Cubs that were leading in that ninth inning and moments later would secure a 4-3 win over the Rockies,
When it comes to legends that have played for the Toronto Blue Jays, names such as Dave Stieb, Joe Carter, Carlos Delgado, Roy Halladay and José Bautista usually come to mind. As for those that were Blue Jays but were legends predominantly with other MLB team during their careers, names such as Paul Molitor, Dave Winfield, the late Rickey Henderson and David Price would come up. In the case for the latter group, their legacies were usually recognized based on their teams with the most time they spent playing with.
On Tuesday the Rockies dropped a home game to the Giants, giving them their 100th loss of the season. Though the Rockies have never won a division title in their 33 seasons as a franchise - their postseason appearances in 1995, 2007, 2017, and 2018 came as a wild card team - one point of pride used to be that they had never lost 100 games in a season.
Brown was a third-round pick out of Indiana in 2021. Colorado left him exposed in last winter's Rule 5 draft, where he went unprotected. The 6'6″ righty has had a breakout minor league season that might've garnered him legitimate consideration in the upcoming Rule 5. Colorado was going to add him to the 40-man roster at the beginning of the winter regardless. They'll select his contract a couple months earlier to evaluate him over six or seven starts down the stretch.
The Rockies have released veteran lefty Austin Gomber, per a team announcement. (Thomas Harding of MLB.com reported the move just minutes prior to its announcement.) He was reportedly placed on outright waivers earlier this week. Given that he's now being released, it's clear he wasn't claimed. Colorado will give his 40-man spot to lefty reliever Lucas Gilbreath, whose contract has been selected from Triple-A Albuquerque.
