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 played situations where we can try to bring in two guys who can stabilize that place – who not only play well but who can give us a lot of innings, which any team needs,” said Byrnes. “Maybe that’s how we’re trying to figure it out. There’s a lot of unknowns about what happens in trade or free agency, but we need to add to that area.”
It is a reasonable goal for the club. Colorado’s circulation was historically bad in 2025. The club’s starters had a combined earned run average of 6.65. According to a post from Harding back in October, that was the highest swing ERA by any club since the stat became official in 1913. Coors Field obviously played a role in the struggle but the numbers weren’t great compared to past clubs in Colorado. This team was also reduced at the end of the season on time German Marquez he became a free agent. In short, there is nowhere to go but up.
Right now, the club projects to have a few experienced arms in the mix. Kyle Freeland will enter his 10th major league season and is under contract through 2026, with a conditional player option for 2027. Ryan Feltner he has 339 2/3 innings under his belt. Both have experience but don’t offer much in the way of hope. Feltner has a career 5.19 ERA with below-average fastball and walk rates but below average strikeout numbers. Freeland’s ERA has been around 5.00 for three straight years now.
Antonio Senzatela was taken to the barn in August. Manager Warren Schaeffer said in September the club plans to keep him moving forward, according to Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post. Senzatela is signed through 2026 with a $14MM club option for 2027. Given his 6.65 ERA last year and the fact that there are no buys in that option, it will definitely be declined.
Beyond Freeland and Feltner, the other rotation options are inexperienced. Chase the Dollar entered 2025 as one of the league’s top prospects but posted a 6.52 ERA in 98 innings in his rookie season. A 40-man roster is also available Tanner Gordon, McCade Brown, Carson Palmquist, Gabriel Hughes again Bradley Blalock but everyone on that team has fewer than 110 major league innings pitched. Hughes has yet to make it to the majors. Four other names in that group have ERAs north of 7.00.
Given that context, adding a few veterans would make a lot of sense. They can stabilize the team and give the decision makers some freedom in keeping young young guys until they are ready.
Getting those veterans to Colorado has often been a challenge. Given the pitching position at the top, free agents often don’t want to sign with the Rockies. Looking at MLBTR’s Contract Tracker, which has data going back to 2006, the club has signed only three free agent pitchers to deals with an average annual value of eight figures in that span. They signed Jorge De La Rosa to a three-year, $32MM deal back in 2010, then a one-year, $15MM deal Jeff Francis in 2012, followed by a three-year, $52MM deal for Wade Davis in 2017.
Byrnes offered an optimistic view, for what it’s worth. “There are different levels of free agency,” GM said. “It’s interesting, without naming names. But for guys with short deals, I think there’s a conspiracy. Everybody around the game knows it’s hard to pitch in Colorado, but I think a few guys want to take on that challenge, and we’ve brought in a team that will turn over all the rocks to get to it and solve this thing.”
Without Byrnes providing any details, one can only guess what kind of free agents he is talking about. It would make sense for a pitcher near the end of his career to have an extra game of testing, because he won’t have to worry too much about poor performance that will affect his earning power in the future. That could be in line with the type of short-term deal Byrnes is referring to.
Given the clubhouse situation, the Rockies won’t be targeting top available free agents Framber Valdez, Guard Suárez or Zac Gallen. But veterans love it Wade Miley, Miles Mikolas, Alex Cobb, Jose Quintana, Patrick Corbin or Martín Pérez make speculative sense. All are 35 or older and will be looking at one-year offers in free agency.
The Rockies might try to bring in a starter in a trade, though they don’t have a ton to offer other clubs. Any guys on their roster with trade value can be flipped for prospects or controllable players. Perhaps they can get an unpopular contract from another team, though that approach comes with challenges. The Blue Jays and Mets may be looking to move José Berríos again Kodai Sengarespectively, but holding on to such a person would require the Rockies to take on significant salary during the rebuilding years. Berríos is expected to make $66MM over the next three years and Senga $28MM over the next two years. Perhaps those clubs would be willing to spend money to do a deal but Berríos has an eight-club no-trade clause and Senga could block a ten-club trade. Given the Rockies’ situation and the challenges of pitching there, it seems fair to assume that the Rockies will be blocked by both guys.
Photo courtesy of Ron Chenoy, Imagn Images
