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Welcome to the 2026 edition of Ranking the Rockies, where we take a look back at every player to log playing time for the Rockies in 2026. The purpose of this list is to provide a snapshot of the player in context. The “Ranking” is an organizing principle that’s drawn from Baseball Reference’s WAR (rWAR). It’s not something the staff debated. We’ll begin with the player with the lowest rWAR and end up with the player with the highest.

No. 47, Kyle Freeland (-0.4 rWAR)

We’ve all heard the cliches.

“Denver native.”

“Went to Thomas Jefferson High School.”

“Grew up 15 minutes from Coors Field.”

“The hometown kid.”

Heck, we’ve heard these so many times that we made an entire bingo card out of them!

But 2026 marked what could be the last time we hear those phrases uttered on the Colorado Rockies home broadcast about Kyle Freeland.

Since he was drafted eighth-overall in the 2014 MLB Draft, Freeland has spent his entire career with the Rockies. He’s had some highs – such as his near-no-hitter in 2018 – and plenty of lows. And 2026 unfortunately marked a low for the left-hander, who not only finished with career worsts in a number of categories, but also finished with a negative rWAR for the first time since 2019.

Freeland was tagged for a career-high 104 runs (100 earned), and his 29 home runs allowed tied a career worst (also 2023). His 6.65 ERA is a career high, and his 75 ERA+ is also a career low, while his 1.522 WHIP is second only behind his 1.581 in 2019. Finally, his 3.72 SO/BB ratio was the highest of his career.

But Freeland also hit numerous milestones in 2026:

• On March 27th against the Miami Marlins, he made his fifth Opening Day start – the most Opening Day starts in franchise history. He also became the first pitcher in franchise history to make three consecutive Opening Day starts.
• On June 1st against the Los Angeles Angels, he passed Jorge De La Rosa (985) for the second-most strikeouts in club history. 
• On June 7th against the Milwaukee Brewers, he set the franchise record in innings pitched, surpassing Aaron Cook (1,312.1)
• On June 19th against the Pittsburgh Pirates, he struck out his 1,000th career batter, becoming the second Rockie to achieve the feat behind Germán Márquez (1,069).
• On August 2nd against the Kansas City Royals, he threw his first-career complete game.
• On September 27th against the Chicago White Sox, he started Game 162 for the second time in his career (also 2017), becoming the fourth Rockies starter to start game No.1 and No. 162 in the same season.

On top of his on-field struggles, Freeland’s season was also muddied by injuries. He spent two separate stints on the injured list – April 15-28 with left shoulder inflammation (retroactive to April 13) and August 24-September 15 with cervical radiculopathy. 

Ahead of his first IL stint, Freeland was pitching well. In three starts, he’d posted a 1-1 record with a 2.30 ERA across 15.2 innings. He hadn’t allowed more than two runs in any of the three starts.

But when he returned, the wheels fell off.

In his first start back against the Cincinnati Reds, he allowed four runs on five hits with one walk and four strikeouts. Two of the runs came off a Spencer Steer home run in the first inning. In each of his first four starts after coming off the IL, he allowed four or more runs while only pitching five complete innings twice in that span. 

May was Freeland’s worst month when he posted a 12.46 ERA across 21.2 innings (five starts). He struggled through June and July, but really hit his stride again in August, posting a 2.52 ERA and 1.08 WHIP in four starts. He allowed four runs on six hits with the two homers on August 19th, but then was placed on the IL again.

In his final three starts, Freeland went 0-2 with a 9.82 ERA across 11 innings to likely end his career in Purple Pinstripes.

It’s unclear at this time what the future holds for the five-time Roberto Clemente Award nominee, as his contract expired at the end of the 2026 season.

But regardless, I will always be a Kyle Freeland Fan.

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Another October thud, naturally, leads to winter questions, some quite thorny. Where do the Yankees go from here, apart from taking some time to process the ache of getting swept by the Rays in the ALDS? 

That’s consecutive ALDS exits against AL East rivals that were better than the Yanks during the regular season now, so the team must get better. How does that happen? There are important free agents looming, like closer David Bednar, so big decisions must be made. All those will come as the sport sorts through negotiations for a new labor agreement, which will have an as-yet unknown impact on the game’s economics.

Here are five Yankees storylines to follow during the offseason... 

Will Aaron Boone be back? 

The outside debate over whether the Yanks need a new dugout voice rages with every end of season loss (and often long before). Perhaps a culture jolt would be just the thing. But fans’ ire does not fire or hire when it comes to the Yankee manager, so Boone seems likely to stick. 

He’s got one year left on his deal. A likely lockout would give a new manager little time to get set and get to know players. Big-name stars such as Aaron Judge and Cam Schlittler backed Boone after the Game 3 loss. 

There’s also an easy way for the Yankees to talk themselves into letting Boone proceed -- Judge, probably the best hitter in the world, played only 66 games, none in the postseason. Other stars missed significant time, too. In a season of tribulation, the Yankees weren’t good enough, but they still won 93 games and beat Boston in the Wild Card Series. Boone has missed the playoffs once in nine years guiding the Yanks.

What does Aaron Judge’s "all-in" look like?

Judge urged the Yanks to go "all-in" and "go out there and get it" to fill whatever holes the team has going forward. How does that happen, especially in a generally-thin free agent market? The Yankees have some well-regarded young big leaguers who helped them get to the playoffs. 

Do they get creative on the trade market with them and their prospects? Or do they trade peanuts for some team’s bad contract and hope they snag a player who is re-energized in the Bronx? They’d better do something, especially with a lineup that flagged during the season and then produced, well, that October. 

It’s one thing to say that good pitching beats good hitting in the October cauldron, but the Yankees were dreadful on offense against the Rays, batting .130 with a .431 OPS. Even with the team missing Judge, they can’t be that awful. Without Ben Rice, would they have even scored at all? (We’re exaggerating, he only drove in three of the Yanks five runs in the series, but still).

There’s no wiggle room at designated hitter. Rice and Judge, who turns 35 in April, require at-bats there. Giancarlo Stanton has no position other than DH. Maybe they could steal from the Rays playbook and add players with big-time ball-in-play skills to diversify? 

Second thoughts

Jazz Chisholm Jr. is a free agent and Anthony Volpe revitalized his career after being sent to Triple-A and returning with vigor. Perhaps Chisholm out, Volpe in is the easiest way to solve second base. 

It’s pretty unlikely Chisholm returns -- he did not live up to his big talent in his walk year, heard boos at Yankee Stadium, and was so un-vital to the Yankee cause that Boone didn't start him in Game 3 against a righty. 

The Yanks could make him a qualifying offer and get a draft pick when he signs elsewhere. But they’d have to be OK with him returning. He could just grab the $23-plus million and try to reset his free agency with a bigger season on what figures to be a good Yankee team in ‘27. 

Finally, the Yanks’ biggest deadline deal brought them Luis García Jr., a thunderous lefty bat. He played only first base for the Yankees and Nationals this season, but spent the previous three seasons as Washington’s second baseman. He’s played second, but can he play second? Especially for a club that just embarrassed itself defensively this postseason?

Pen notes

The Yanks have done a remarkable job discovering and developing useful relievers for years, but that doesn’t mean they should overthink closer this winter. Bednar is a free agent. The Yankees should re-sign him. He recorded 35 saves and a 2.47 ERA in 64 games during the regular season and added three scoreless postseason innings. 

He’s proven he can handle the New York market, and his entrance song -- "Renegade" by Styx -- sounds cool. 

Beyond Bednar, Paul Blackburn is another key bullpen free agent and he’s coming off an insane platform year -- a 1.69 ERA in 62 games and one hit allowed over six shutout innings in the playoffs. He’s a keeper, too.

Get defensive

We’ll stop short of using the term "run prevention" for obvious reasons, but the Yanks have had two high-profile defensive meltdowns in the postseason in the last three seasons and need to fix their defense. A few Dodgers chirped them after the Game 5 debacle in the 2024 World Series, but that wasn’t humiliating enough to prevent the Yankees from bungling Game 2 against the Rays with another torrent of miscues. 

Another early October exit is, sadly for them, becoming familiar territory. But a near-annual blooper-fest in the playoffs can’t be on repeat, too. If it takes new defensive protocols, more infield practice during the season, more accountability or better defenders, it must stop. 

Angel Martinez has had a horrific 2026 ALDS so far… he should still start in left field tonight.

First, let’s stare at the bleak numbers right in the face. Martinez is 0 for 12 with 7 strikeouts. He is chasing everything and whiffing at everything. He has gone 0 for 4 with runners on base and stranded eight baserunners, including three who were on third base. In positive news, he has been solid in left field and ran a mile to catch a pop-up that Brayan Rocchio and Jose Ramirez lost in the lights in Monday’s games. …But, his -100 wRC+ feels about right… he is a clear negative in terms of helping the Guardians win a baseball game at the moment.

So, why shouldn’t Stephen Vogt make a switch today? Maybe put Adell in right, DeLauter in left and let Nate Lowe DH and David Fry play first base, or vice versa? Maybe make Travis Bazzana DH and get Angel Genao a start at second base?

The reason is because Angel Martinez was one of the hottest hitters in baseball August-September with a 152 wRC+ and a .310/.346/.510 slashline. He is more than capable of getting back on track and the way to do so is pretty simple… I am sure every coach and player around him is saying “Just stay patient enough to make them throw you a strike. Force the pitcher to get the ball in the zone and jump on it.” If Angel can take even one walk or get to even one full-count early in the game, he will give himself the potential to unleash his power on this series.

The options behind Martinez are a big part of why he should continue to start. While I thought it might be nice to give him a chance to enter the game off the bench and start Daniel Schneemann yesterday, neither Schneemann, nor Petey Halpin, nor Angel Genao, nor David Fry are offensive threats of particular note. Genao showed some good contact ability yesterday… Martinez has contact ability if he can just lay off a few non-competitive pitches. Fry’s year-long struggles are well-known, Halpin is defense and speed only, and Daniel Schneemann has a career wRC+ under 80. The time to have added another bopper is passed. Martinez gives the team their best chance of impacting the ball with some authority in his role and should get another chance tonight.

Now, if we are sitting here Friday having somehow won the game, and Martinez is now 0 for 16 with 10 strikeouts… I think then it is time to recognize he’s not pulling out of it with the weight of the playoffs sitting firmly on his shoulders and a breather is probably best. Of course, there is no tomorrow. The Guardians have to win today or they are done. So, it’s a risk to continue to start Martinez… but I don’t think there is a preferable risk to exchange his volatility to pursue.

Angel, you’ve got this. You’ve done it all season long. You’ve seen all these pitchers a dozen times. Take a deep breath and remember it’s not all on you. Spit on some bad pitches and pounce on the first thing you see in the zone and you can redeem every bad game that’s happened before like they never existed. We believe in you.

Do you remember as a kid when you would go to the Boardwalk and there would be a sketch artist sitting on the pier somewhere and they would ask if you would like to have your picture drawn? Then they would create a picture with an oversized head and a tiny body trying to ride a bicycle or something like that?

The 2026 Phillies were a caricature. They had a big head and a tiny rest of its body.

They entered the 2026 season knowing they were a top-heavy operation. Offensively, Kyle Schwarber ($30 million), Trea Turner ($27.3 million) and Bryce Harper ($25.4 million) were their big-ticket items, high priced veteran superstars whose job it was to carry the team. They were led by a starting rotation featuring Zack Wheeler ($42 million), Aaron Nola ($24.5 million), Jesus Luzardo ($11 million) and Cristopher Sanchez ($5.7 million), as well as a top closer in Jhoan Duran ($7.5 million). J.T. Realmuto signed a big off-season free agent contract, but was never considered someone who would provide a major impact.

The majority of the roster was a mix of returning veteran bats, some bargain basement outfield additions, and a bullpen that seemed to be a strength until it very quickly became apparent it wasn’t.

Turner was a disaster. Harper and Schwarber were fine, ranking 13th and 15th, respectively, in MLB OPS among qualified players. The rotation was as good as advertised, and the bullpen was one of the worst in the league as the playoffs rolled around. Nearly every returning member of the Phillies regressed from 2025 to 2026.

In the end, the Phillies tried to skate through the season with two “great” position players, three elite starting pitchers, and one elite bullpen arm. The rest was a collection of underachieving veterans who were unable to provide enough value to substantially move the needle.

Simply put, there were not enough solid Major League contributors on the 40-man roster this year compared to the other 12 MLB playoff teams.

This year, the Phillies had three position players worth at least 1.5 fWAR on their roster: Bryson Stott (3.8), Harper (3.3) and Schwarber (2.9). That was the fewest of any team in the playoffs. The Brewers and Cubs each had 8. The White Sox had 7. The Dodgers, Guardians, Padres, Yankees and Rays each has 6.

Pitching-wise, the Phillies had 6 pitchers worth at least 1.0 fWAR: Sanchez (6.2), Luzardo (5.5), Wheeler (4.0), Duran (2.9), Nola (1.3) and Andrew Painter (1.1). The Dodgers had TWICE as many, 12, with the Brewers and Red Sox each having 9. The Yankees had 8. The Braves, Padres and Rays had 7 each.

When you add up all the hitters with 1.5+ fWAR and pitchers worth 1.0+ fWAR, the Phillies had 9 such players, the fewest of any postseason team. By comparison, the Dodgers had 18. The Brewers had 17. The Yankees, 14. Four teams had 13.

Dombrowski will have money to spend this off-season. There will be raises to Luzardo and Sanchez thanks to their well-deserved contract extensions, but there is significant money coming off the books. Dead cash for Nick Castellanos and Taijuan Walker, about $38 million, will be freed up. However, there are no star free agents outside of Japanese imports worth spending big bucks on.

The most likely free agent of note the Phils could sign is outfielder Randy Arozarena, who put up a career year in Seattle this season. They will give the soon-to-be 32-year-old a contract that everyone will be uncomfortable with to play left or right field, and it will probably be the right move. But outside of that, Dombrowski’s mission must be to find more 1.5+ fWAR hitters and 1.0+ fWAR pitchers.

He must balance the roster.

Harper is no longer good enough to be at the head of a top-heavy roster. After a 2025 season in which Dave Dombrowski questioned whether Harper was still elite, Harper was actually worth a little less in ‘26 than he was in ‘25:

• 2025: 132 games, 3.4 fWAR, .261/.357/.487, .844 OPS, 27 HRs, 75 RBIs
• 2026: 162 games, 3.3 fWAR, .269/.380/.485, .865 OPS, 29 HRs, 87 RBIs

We now know what Harper is at 33 years old. He’s slightly less than a 3.5-win player. That is a very fine thing to be and right in line with his very reasonable $25.4 million salary. Schwarber, the team’s other big bat, did not have as productive a season as his previous two:

• 2024: 150 games, 3.2 fWAR, .248/.366/.485, .851 OPS, 38 HRs, 104 RBIs
• 2025: 162 games, 4.8 fWAR, .240/.365/.563, .928 OPS, 56 HRs, 132 RBIs
• 2026: 156 games, 2.9 fWAR, .232/.354/.503, .857 OPS, 45 HRs, 97 RBIs

Schwarber is still one of the game’s most feared power hitters, and when he’s on a hot streak, he can carry the team for a solid month. But he can also go quite cold. He had just a .199 batting average in the second half last year, hitting .172/.330/.379 in September. He will be 34 next year.

When your two best players are streaky and, frankly, do not provide elite production, they need to be supplemented with other players throughout the roster who do more things well than what we saw this season.

It’s well past time to have serious conversations about Bryson Stott, Brandon Marsh and Alec Bohm. Despite another mediocre year at the plate and his annual disappearing act in the postseason, Stott led the team in fWAR thanks mostly to his defensive versatility and baserunning. He would likely fetch a decent price as a trade chip this off-season. After starting the All Star Game last summer, Marsh finished as a player who was barely above replacement-level, with a 0.3 fWAR in 155 games. He should be traded. Bohm, worth 0.2 fWAR despite a better second half, should not be back.

The Phillies can only hope J.T. Realmuto and Trea Turner figure something out this off-season, because while Dombrowski might want to trade them, he won’t find any takers. And despite what you may have read, it is highly unlikely Harper or Schwarber are going anywhere in trades. They control their destiny, although Dombrowski should be willing to listen to any and all offers and present them to his two veteran stars.

Dombrowski has to rely on his pro and minor league scouts to earn their money. They need to comb through the 40-man rosters of every team in the league, identify players who can contribute at the Major League level, and swing some trades. They need to make smarter free agent decisions. That means no more Adolis Garcia-Max Kepler one-year deals to failing, washed-up veterans. This also means bringing aboard guys who are more well-rounded. Guys who play good defense, don’t chase at the plate, and understand what a professional at-bat looks like.

More importantly, they need to load up their system with bullpen arms and stash as many guys with plus-stuff on their minor league teams and on the 40-man as they can. The only minor league reliever to have any significant impact this year was Alex McFarlane, and they waited until late July to get him on the 26-man roster. Getting even 2 or 3 guys who can provide 1.0+ fWAR out of the bullpen as a middle reliever would be a major victory.

This is where champions are built. If there was a big-money free agent that could take over as the No. 1 star on the team, the Phillies would, and should, go for it. But outside of Japan, that player isn’t out there. So, the Phillies will enter the 2027 season with Harper and Schwarber as the guys they’re building around, hoping that Turner re-joins them in creating a Big 3.

Big game hunting is fun, but in the case of this sinking Phillies team, they simply need more competent big league baseball players in the organization to make the top-heavy roster look less like a caricature and more like a real playoff team capable of winning a World Series.