DENVER, Colo. — Finally, it appears the Rockies have settled on a new leader for their baseball operations.
Sources close to the Rockies told Scripps News Denver Sports that Paul DePodesta will be hired as President of Baseball Operations / General Manager.
Dick and Walker Monfort fulfilled their pledge to look outside the organization and bring in a new set of eyes to run the baseball side of the club. And DePodesta will certainly be a breath of fresh air for the stale situation at 20th and Blake.
DePodesta's latest job was Chief Strategy Officer for the Cleveland Browns. And that may leave a lot of Rockies fans asking, "Wait, what? The Browns?"
Yes, the Browns. But DePodesta also has a wealth of successful experience as a baseball executive.
He was assistant GM to Billy Beane with the Oakland A's, made famous by the movie "Moneyball." Beane was portrayed by Brad Pitt and DePodesta was played by Jonah Hill.
DePodesta was also the Dodgers general manager from 2005 to 2005. He started as an intern with the Cleveland Browns in 1996. Then he moved to the A's and also worked in the front offices of the Padres and Mets before heading to the NFL with the Browns.
He takes over for Bill Schmidt, who stepped down following a 43-119 season that flirted with the worst all-time mark in MLB history. The Rockies are in need of a transformation after becoming the first team with three straight 100-loss seasons since Houston in 2011-13.
In his nearly 10 seasons with the Browns, DePodesta did not make personnel decisions but worked with the front office and coaching staff on targeting players during free agency in March and the NFL draft in April.
The move has not been confirmed by the Rockies but it may be announced as early as Friday and comes before MLB's general manager meetings begin on Monday in Las Vegas.
The first order of business for DePodesta will be deciding on a manager. The Rockies fired Bud Black in May after a 7-33 start and promoted Warren Schaeffer to take his place. Schaeffer went 36-86 the rest of the way as the Rockies narrowly avoided the worst mark in baseball’s modern era. Their 119 losses were tied with the 2003 Detroit Tigers for the third-most in a single season since 1901, slightly in front of the 2024 Chicago White Sox (41-121) and the 1962 New York Mets (40-120).
One positive about a season gone sideways is that Colorado’s youth gained some experience. There were a franchise-record 13 players that made their major league debut.
Another big decision will be what to do with slugger Kris Bryant, who was limited to 11 games this season as he dealt with a back ailment. Bryant has played in only 170 games with Colorado because of an assortment of injuries since signing a $182 million, seven-year contract before the 2022 season.
DePodesta may need to find creative ways to turn Coors Field into a home-field advantage. The Rockies were 24-56 in the Mile High City, the most losses in franchise history. Their 4.56 runs per game at home were their fewest in franchise history, edging last season’s mark of 4.89.
The Rockies posted a minus-424 run differential, surpassing the minus-349 mark held by the 1932 Boston Red Sox for the the the worst mark in the modern era.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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