Paul DePodesta Ties the Rockies’ 2026 Pitching Woes to Colorado’s Long-Term Search for Answers

Paul DePodesta’s offseason message from the Rockies, delivered in the wake of another demoralizing year, centered on pitching, and on what happens when the position group cannot reliably cover for everything else. Colorado’s 2026 finish left little room for optimism. The club won 58 games and clinched the majors’ worst record for the second straight season, and the month of September defined the ceiling that was reachable: a 6-18 run to end the year.

DePodesta framed the season with a dual lens, acknowledging that there was movement from the prior year while still putting the focus on how far the Rockies have to go to become competitive. MLB Trade Rumors reported that the Rockies won 15 more games than they did in 2025, a clear improvement on paper. At the same time, the team’s late-season collapse underscored that the underlying problem did not get solved, particularly on the mound.

The pitching struggles did not appear to be a one-year anomaly. The Rockies have lost triple-digit games four years in a row, and Colorado has not finished near.500 or better since a 91-72 season in 2018. In practical terms, that means the organization has been operating with an extended stretch of underperformance, where a stable, above-average pitching staff is hard to find and therefore hard to build around.

2018 serves as the most recent internal reference point for what can work in this environment. In that season, Kyle Freeland, a left-hander, was described in the MLBTR report as the club’s ace who delivered a strong individual year. The reporting notes that Freeland’s 2018 performance came despite Coors Field being hitter-friendly, and that he finished fourth in National League Cy Young voting, illustrating how much value top-tier starting pitching can provide even in Colorado’s unique home context.

That historical contrast matters because the Rockies’ identity, at least from the outside, has often been shaped by their home park. But building a pitching plan around the realities of Coors Field requires more than one good season or one dominant starter. For DePodesta and the front office, the challenge is to translate isolated success into repeatable outcomes, especially with a roster that must travel and perform against a variety of pitching styles and ballparks.

DePodesta’s remarks also land at a time when Rockies decision-makers will be under scrutiny for the composition of the staff and the development pathway for pitchers. The September record, the second straight year of the worst mark in the majors, and the franchise’s multi-year run of triple-digit losses are the kinds of results that typically trigger deeper evaluation: how pitchers are acquired, how they are developed, and how quickly they are expected to produce.

What to watch next is whether this offseason brings an emphasis on pitching as a primary acquisition and development focus rather than a secondary fix. With the team again positioned at the bottom of the standings, even incremental gains in the win column will be interpreted through the same question: does the Rockies’ staff generate enough outs and run prevention to support a more stable season, starting before September.