The Colorado Rockies went 43-119 this season, staying near the bottom of the standings the whole year. While German Marquez reached a career milestone, he and the team's pitching staff struggled. The Rockies fired general manager Bill Schmidt to kick off their offseason, but more changes could be coming. Regardless of their future, the pressure is on Warren Schaeffer's staff.
Schaeffer introduced some new strategy to Colorado's team in his first season as a manager. However, it did not translate into wins for a team looking for a spark. Instead, fans wonder how much longer they have to wait to see their team find success. According to other team executives, the Rockies have a lot of ground to make up in order to seriously contend.
As baseball continues to grow in the modern era, analytics have become vital to team success. Despite the popular trend, Colorado is lacking. According to The Athletic's Andy McCullough, other executives believe that the Rockies' inability to evolve is holding the team back.
“My sense is they’re in the Stone Ages,” one executive said. Another executive was more charitable, but still emphatic: “They’re literally 20 years behind the rest of the league in terms of analytics, infrastructure, everything.”
Marquez is the veteran in Schaeffer's starting rotation, but Colorado has plenty of young talent. Kyle Freeland suffered an injury that crippled the Rockies' pitching staff, all but ending his team's chances at making the postseason. Now that the year is over the time has come for reflection and major changes in the offseason.
Regardless of what happens, Schaeffer and his coaching staff are squarely in the spotlight. If he can make changes to how the organization evaluates pitching, the Rockies have a chance. If Colorado remains stuck in the past, the end to its rebuild is nowhere in sight.
