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It’s easy to forget, but Elly De La Cruz made 29 starts (and appeared in 32 overall games) as the 3B of the Cincinnati Reds back in his first year in the big leagues in 2023. That was in deference to Matt McLain, current 2B and resident backup SS, who made 52 starts at short that year.

Though I doubt there’s a realistic scenario that sees Elly ever need to play some 3B on the regular, he’s got the chops and the experience there. That’s some versatility from the planned starting middle-infield, with McLain also having a wealth of outfield experience from his days at UCLA, in Cape Cod League play, and even in the Arizona Fall League, too.

To their collective left is a logjam at 1B, it would appear. The way the Reds plan to un-jam those logs is, once again, through versatility. Sal Stewart, a 3B and 2B by trade prior to his 2025 call-up, will presumably rotate through all three positions (as well as DH). The recently signed Eugenio Suárez is himself a former shortstop of these very Reds, and while those days are long over, he’s been a 3B at the big league level for a decade and will presumably be fully capable of providing cover there when not at DH or 1B himself.

Then, there’s Spencer Steer, a Gold Glove finalist at 1B this past season who may well be staring at the starting LF job right now. He’ll play both of those spots often, while there’s word that the former 3B and 2B will get time at 2B, at least, to keep his bat in the lineup. Though putting him at SS for any serious time is a bridge too far, Steer profiles as the most versatile player on the roster – that is, of course, if the Reds remain committed to keeping former 3B/SS/2B Noelvi Marte as their everyday RF, something he only just began to to last August.

(Even then, it’s easy to see Marte sliding back into the infield mix in a 15 inning game with tons of other switches, or if someone gets injured unexpectedly, and the club wants him to learn more CF, too.)

There’s been some talk of seeing if TJ Friedl can get some run in LF, as that would allow Dane Myers – a platoon OF who’ll play all over the OF – to cover CF and increase the defensive quality of the overall outfield. Catcher Tyler Stephenson has played 1B in 32 games in his career, with 76 additional appearances at DH to keep his bat in the lineup against LHP. Even fringe roster guys like Christian Encarnacion-Strand and Tyler Callihan have positional versatility, with CES experienced at both corners on the infield and Callihan playing just about everywhere but short.

That’s a comical level of flexibility, really. If it were truly his goal, manager Terry Francona could go weeks of fielding lineups every single day that a) were actually feasible and b) never played the same player in the same position two days in a row, especially with the likes of Will Benson and JJ Bleday experienced at all three OF spots on top of all the rest.

Then, though, there’s Ke’Bryan Hayes. Somehow, every time I try to figure out what the Reds are actually up to, it all seems to make sense until we get to Hayes.

Hayes has over 9100 innings logged as a professional since being a 1st round draft pick of the Pittsburgh Pirates all the way back in 2015, and all but 5.0 of those innings have come as a 3B (with those handful in a trio of late-game appearances at short back in 2022). He’s a 3B, a 3B only, and does so with glovework that may well be the best of any player in the sport despite a bat that’s been one of the worst of any regular for over two seasons running.

Hayes is the lone position player on the roster outside of backup catcher who plays nowhere else, making him something of a unicorn on a roster that’s otherwise put together specifically to highlight versatility. Hayes is also a unicorn in the sport itself as a glove-first player at a position otherwise populated by big-hitting sluggers, a glove-first player who doesn’t play the defensive positions higher up the pecking order of importance like CF or SS.

If you look at how this roster is actually put together, the one glaring thing they don’t seem to have is a classic glove-first guy who can fill in at every single infield position as a late-inning guy, as a utility knife for precisely the right scenarios and alignments. You know the archetypes – the Jose Oquendos, the Tony Phillips, the Craig Counsells, the Juan Uribes, the Ryan Freels (RIP). In Hayes, they found a guy with two of the most overriding characteristics of classic utility guys – great glove, no bat – but didn’t get a guy who, for whatever reason, has never been tasked with taking that elite defense all over the diamond to unlock the rest of his roster.

So, he’s on a versatile roster as the guy who most profiles as a player who should move around a lot, but doesn’t. Instead of being paid like a guy who’s a utility player, he’s on a long-term deal that guarantees him $36 million and makes him one of the higher-paid guys on the team. Despite all of that, he’s not just a guy that the Reds overpaid for something he’s not and ended up in this situation of mutual volition, he’s the guy the Reds went out and got specifically because this is who he is, and did so despite having a handful of better bats who also look like they should probably play 3B most days.

Perhaps there’s a renaissance with Hayes’ bat in there somewhere that I don’t see. Perhaps the Reds are, for whatever reason, simply content to get 1.6 dWAR from Hayes at 3B batting 9th most days and nothing more, all while one of Stewart, Suarez, or Steer sits on the pine those days.

It is with much happiness that I say out loud that we are now only days away from pitchers and catchers reporting to Spring Training. That means we can now look at what St. Louis Cardinals President of Baseball Operations Chaim Bloom was able to accomplish. What grade would you give him for his first real offseason of work?

Chaim got an early jump on the winter months by trading Sonny Gray to the Boston Red Sox. That was followed by convincing Willson Contreras to also waive his no-trade clause and accept a trade to Boston. He also signed free agent pitcher Dustin May to a one-year deal. Chaim also managed to find a home for Nolan Arenado as he was traded along with several briefcases of cash to the Arizona Diamondbacks for a low-end prospect. Finally, this week the St. Louis Cardinals only all-star last season Brendan Donovan was traded to the Seattle Mariners for 3 prospects and 2 draft picks.

While I am more interested in your take on Chaim Bloom’s many offseason moves, I’ll kick in my two cents. My grade for Chaim Bloom would be an A-. He accomplished nearly everything he said he wanted to do when the offseason began. He moved veteran players that were impeding play time for young talent along with big chunks of their large salaries and he acquired young players, some with a very high upside. Why not a perfect score? As of this moment, the St. Louis Cardinals still have JoJo Romero on their staff which isn’t a bad thing, but he’s likely a valued trade option for many teams needing a left-handed relief arm. In the press conference explaining the Brendan Donovan trade, Chaim Bloom did say that he would not be turning his phone off if other teams wanted to make additional moves so maybe that perfect A grade is still attainable.

Since beauty is in the eye of the beholder (or not), what is your opinion of the St. Louis Cardinals offseason moves? Would you give Chaim Bloom a high grade or is there something about the trades and acquisitions that trouble you?

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Rangers fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.

As things currently stand, the Texas Rangers have four spots in their Opening Day rotation filled, with Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi, MacKenzie Gore and Jack Leiter.

The fifth spot is a question mark currently. The Rangers no doubt hope that Cody Bradford will be healthy and ready to join the rotation at some point in May, but even if things going as well as could be hoped with Bradford, and even if everyone else stays healthy all spring, someone will have to man the fifth starter spot in the interim.

So in our Rangers Reacts Survey today, we want to know…who do you think should be the team’s fifth starter?

Cast your vote below…

“Back in Pinstripes and on Mound, but Only for Fun.”

So read The New York Times’ headline when word got out that Andy Pettitte — winner of 240 big league games, five-time World Series champ, and the man who had started more games as a Yankee than anyone but Whitey Ford — was making his way to spring training in 2012. The 39-year-old, who had retired after the 2010 season, was the latest in a long line of legends transitioning gracefully into an elder statesman of the game. Pettitte had gamely volunteered to throw some batting practice to the current team, a role that everyone understood as more tongue-in-cheek than consequential. “I’m not looking to coach anybody or anything,” said the retiree. “If guys want to ask me questions or anything, then obviously I’ll be more than happy to talk to guys. I’m here to hang out and mess around.”

A couple of weeks later, Andy Pettitte was no longer messing around. Instead, he was putting pen to paper and signing on for his 14th season in pinstripes.

Andy Pettitte
Signing Date: March 6, 2012
Contract: One year, $2.5 million

As one of the most famous Yankees in modern memory, the average fan probably already knows the story of Andrew Eugene Pettitte. But before getting to March 2012, we’ll offer an abridged refresher.

Born in Baton Rouge in 1972 and raised just outside Houston, Pettitte performed well enough at Deer Park High School to catch the eye of the Yankees, who selected him as a draft-and-follow pick in the now-defunct 22nd round of the 1990 MLB Draft. After spending another year pitching for San Jacinto College North, Pettitte signed with New York in 1991, beginning a long and deeply fruitful partnership. The southpaw rose quickly through the ranks, excelling at each level of the minor leagues until earning his promotion to the Yankees in 1995. He was effective immediately, winning 12 games and posting a 4.17 ERA in 175 innings en route to a third-place Rookie of the Year finish—and the first of 44 career playoff starts.

If 1995 was an encouraging debut for Pettitte, ’96 was his coming out party. The 24-year-old went 21-8 with a 3.87 ERA, finishing second to Pat Hentgen for the Cy Young and helping the Yankees to their first championship in nearly 20 years, a run that included one of the signature performances of his career. Fresh off a seven-run drubbing at the hands of the defending champion Braves in Game 1 of the World Series, Pettitte rebounded to outduel future Hall of Famer John Smoltz, twirling 8.1 innings of scoreless ball on the road to win a crucial Game 5 in Atlanta.

Pettitte remained a key cog in the Yankees’ rotation throughout their dynasty run, starting 276 games between 1995-2003 while maintaining a sub-4.00 ERA in an era of high-flying offense. When he became a free agent after the ‘03 season, however, the team’s front office slow-played negotiations, failing to make a formal offer during their window of exclusive negotiations with their homegrown starter. “He’s come this far,” GM Brian Cashman said matter-of-factly. “He’s going to go out and find out what his market is first. He’s going to elect free agency.”

Pettitte’s camp expressed bewilderment at the lack of momentum towards a long-term deal. He was hearing very little from owner George Steinbrenner too, which was a bit insulting with the owner not hesitating to try to woo the likes of Gary Sheffield. “They keep saying he is their No. 1 priority,” said Tom Pettitte, Andy’s father. “’We’ve been hearing that since that day we left. If 14 days goes by before you even call someone you’re interested in, you’re dragging your feet. That doesn’t seem like a whole lot of interest to me.”

Whether due to this breakdown in negotiations or an interest to return home to Texas, on December 11th Pettitte agreed to sign a three-year, $31 million deal to join the Astros. The Yankees had reportedly scrambled to make a higher offer, but by then, Pettitte had already given his word to Houston. By way of explaining his decision, in clear contrast to his view of the Yankees’ negotiations with him, the newest Astro said simply, “They really wanted me here.”

While injuries limited Pettitte in his first season in Houston, he had a monster year in 2005, posting a career-best 2.39 ERA in 33 starts while helping lead the team to their first-ever National League pennant. After a strong follow-up campaign, the veteran was once again on the open market. Upon evaluating his options—including returning to Houston and retiring—Pettitte made the decision in December 2006 to rejoin the franchise with which he’d found his greatest success, signing a one-year deal for his age-35 season with a player option for the following year. That turned into four years back in New York, a renaissance during which he secured his fifth ring in 2009 while winning the clincher in each round of the playoffs.

Following the 2010 campaign, Pettitte hung up his spikes, ostensibly content to leave baseball behind. There was even a press conference to announce his retirement in February 2011.

But the door never fully closed.

Cashman engaged Pettitte in December 2011 about a possible comeback, reportedly offering him between $10 million and $12 million. He demurred until spring training, by which point contractual commitments limited Cashman’s offer to a $2.5 million, minor-league deal. But, after spending time with the team at spring training and some encouragement from Mariano Rivera — who, upon seeing his longtime teammate in Tampa, reportedly “pinned him against a wall and implored him, ‘Let’s go!’” — Pettitte threw a secret bullpen session. The itch was back.

YES Network’s Jack Curry reported the news of the stunning un-retirement, causing a social media stir:

“I expect to be as good as I was,” Pettitte said when combatting concerns about his age and long layoff. “I don’t think I’m going to fail.” His GM expressed similar confidence. “I know what a healthy Andy Pettitte from the left side can do,“ said Cashman. ”We’re all in, and he’s all in.”

The other reviews on Pettitte’s return were mixed. With CC Sabathia, Hiroki Kuroda, Freddy Garcia, Ivan Nova, Michael Pineda, and Phil Hughes already slated for rotation spots, adding the aged Pettitte seemed likely to block the ascent of young starters in favor of what, to some extent, was an unknown quantity. As The New York Times’ Tyler Kepner wrote at the time, “grooming young starters for sustained success is tricky enough as it is. Adding another veteran, no matter how revered, could make it even harder.”

Some of Pettitte’s new teammates seemed to agree. In light of the new competition created by the franchise icon’s signing, Hughes somewhat dejectedly said, “I worry about things I can control. What’s going to happen is going to happen. It is what it is.” When asked if he thought the signing would be good for the Yankees, Pettitte’s fellow veteran Garcia said, “I don’t know. Ask the people. I don’t know. I guess.” Not exactly a ringing endorsement.

Of course, as the old saying goes, you can never have too much pitching. Pineda would miss the whole season (and the next one) with a shoulder injury. Garcia saw his ERA balloon to 5.20 as he lost his spot in the rotation. And Pettitte himself would be limited to 12 regular-season starts after beginning the year late as he stretched out in the minor leagues and subsequently missing time with a broken fibula sustained on a Casey Kotchman comebacker. Still, when on the field, he was sharp as ever, using his pitching smarts and guile to post a 2.87 ERA that was his best mark as a Yankee.

Pettitte returned in time to make two more playoff outings, both of which were quality starts at age-40, though the team was swept out of the postseason by the Tigers in the ALCS.

Pettitte returned for one last ride in 2013, making 30 starts and ending his career once and for all with yet another homecoming, tossing a complete-game victory over the Astros in Houston in his final start. That year was about Mariano Rivera’s farewell tour, but Pettitte’s fate was unclear until he broke the news in September that he’d be walking away as well.

Pettitte’s legacy in pinstripes begins with his incredible model of consistency, both in the regular and postseason, over 15 seasons in baseball’s toughest market. But surely, too, a part of his legacy is his multiple reunions with the Yankees, first from Houston and then out of retirement. They paint a picture of a tenacious competitor who charted his own path, with love for both his home state of Texas and his adopted city of New York.

The Yankees retired Pettitte’s No. 46 in 2015, cementing that legacy among the greatest players in their franchise’s history. His 2012-13 comeback was just another fun chapter in his remarkable journey — the cherry on top.

See more of the “50 Most Notable Yankees Free Agent Signings in 50 Years” series here.

Andrés Giménez is a 27-year-old, left-handed hitting, middle infielder.

The Jays picked him up in trade from the Guardians in early December 2024, along with Nick Sandlin for Spencer Horwitz and minor leaguer Nick Mitchell. Horwitz was quickly flipped to the Pirates.

Horwitz hit .272/.353/.434 with 11 home runs for Pittsburgh, playing first base with a 1.6 bWAR. Not bad.

Mitchell played 85 games across three levels (rookie, A, A+) hitting .273/.386/.370 with 30 steals. FanGraphs has him #36 on their top 46 Guardian prospects.

Giménez hit .210/.285/.313 with 7 home runs (3 of them came in our first 5 games), for a 1.1 bWAR in 101 games. He was slowed by injuries, missing 23 games due to quad tightness and 31 due to an ankle sprain. It was his first time on the IL since 2020, when he was a Met. Unfortunately, the injuries slowed him when he came off the IL.

The bat wasn’t great, but the defence, on the other hand, was great. FanGraphs has him at 10 Outs Above Average (second best in the majors) at second base, which is amazing considering he only played about half a season worth of games at the position.

The first few games, when the team decided, against all logic, to have Giménez cleanup, were surreal, especially when he homered in the first game (and third and fifth). Of course, after those first five games, he hit .169/.247/.200 in the cleanup spot. Using him in that spot was the most puzzling lineup decision of the season (and there were several puzzling lineup choices).

This year, he’s going to be a shortstop. I guess there is a question of whether he’ll be as good at short as he is at second. We watched him play short in the playoffs, and he looked good there to me. He has plenty of arm, generally middle infielders play second because they don’t have the arm for short, but Giménez doesn’t seem to have any issues there. I think he has a good shot at being a Gold Glover at short.

The other question is, ‘Will he hit any better next year?’ That one I can’t answer, though I’d like to think that, without the leg and ankle injuries, he’d have to hit better. And he’d likely steal more bases (he had 12 steals last year, 30 in each of the two previous seasons).

The real answer is ‘He couldn’t hit much worse than last year.‘

Andrés hit much better vs. RHP (.221/.301/.329) than against LHP (.175/.233/.263). We platooned him some at second base; I doubt he’ll be platooned much at short.

Steamer thinks he’ll play in 134 games this year, hitting .253/.311/.384 with 12 home runs and 18 steals. Yeah, that won’t make us forget Bo, but then I’m hoping he’ll make up for it on defense.

Baseball America released their farm system rankings, and they are not the only outlet to do so in the past week or so. ESPN and The Athletic have also put out their rankings. The general consensus is that the Nats farm system is in the middle of the pack, though that feeling is not universal.

BA is the lowest of the three outlets on the Nats farm, ranking them 16th. The Nats have been in this range for them over the past few years. Last year, the Nats were 14th and in 2024 they were 15th. The system was at its strongest in 2023, ranking 7th. This makes sense, given that it was right after the Juan Soto trade.

The reason the Nats system is lower is because of graduations and some regression. At this time last year, Dylan Crews was still prospect eligible. He was regarded as a top 10 prospect in the game. Brady House, Cade Cavalli and Daylen Lile all graduated as well. 

The Nats 2024 draft class also struggled in their first taste of professional action. Seaver King and Luke Dickerson were very disappointing in 2025. Caleb Lomavita was fine, but did not exceed expectations either. With none of those guys emerging as top 100 caliber prospects, the Nats were unable to replace the guys they graduated from within.

Paul Toboni saved the Nats from being ranked deep into the 20’s with his moves. BA noted that the Nats acquired half of their top 20 prospects within the last year. The additions of Harry Ford, Gavin Fien, Luis Perales and others have made the Nats system deeper than ever. 

The biggest reason why they are not higher is the lack of a true blue chip prospect. Eli Willits is the closest thing the Nats have, but BA has him ranked at 30th overall. He is not a top 10 prospect in the game like the Nats have had with Wood and Crews. Prospects like Travis Sykora, Jarlin Susana, Harry Ford and Gavin Fien are all very good, but also come with plenty of risk. 

Keith Law of The Athletic really sees the promise in these guys. That is why he has the Nats system ranked as the 6th best, by far the highest I have seen. He noted that the Nats have done an impressive job restocking their system under Paul Toboni and in the 2025 draft.

However, he also notes the risk in a lot of these players. Law said that a lot of the talent the Nats have picked up is underperforming talent, based on where they were drafted or when they emerged as prospects.

I am not sure I agree with the underperforming part, but I do think a lot of the top guys have questions. Susana, Sykora, Perales and Alejandro Rosario have injury concerns. Harry Ford has some defensive issues and young infielders like Eli Willits and Gavin Fien are years away. There is no Konnor Griffin or Kevin McGonigle in the Nats system.

In the past, the Nats system has been very top heavy. They had a couple blue chip prospects, but not a ton else beyond that. Now the Nationals system’s strength is its depth. The question now is whether some of these promising pieces become top prospects. 

Kiley McDaniel over at ESPN is one of my favorite prospect evaluators going back to his days at Fangraphs. He has the Nats system ranked as the 14th best. Last year, McDaniel had the Nats at 12. That was on the back of the top end guys like Dylan Crews. This year, the strength comes from the depth.

According to his write-up, the Nats acquired four of his top 200 prospects this winter. He pointed out Landon Harmon as a prospect to watch. I like that shoutout a lot. Harmon is quite similar to what Travis Sykora was coming out of high school a couple years ago. Both are 6’6 righties with upper 90’s heaters.

Sykora had a more filled out frame, but Harmon’s fastball might be even better. Harmon’s heater has good shape, while Sykora’s was more velocity dependent. However, Harmon’s secondary pitches are not as advanced as Sykora’s were.

At this time next year, I would be pretty surprised if the Nats did not have a consensus top 10 system in baseball. We wrote about what the system could look like at the end of the year, and Paul was very optimistic. 

There are so many breakout candidates in this system. The reason the Nats system is not top 10 right now is that not a ton of these guys have done it yet. Once the Nats youngsters prove themselves, they will rise in the ranks. Even if the ranking is lower, the Nats farm is as healthy as it has been in a long time under Paul Toboni. Finally, the Nationals prospect pool has depth.

The Royals will once again air ten games on free, over-the-air television, including the home opener on March 30 against the Minnesota Twins. The team is renewing its partnership with Gray Media and will air ten home games on KCTV5 in Kansas City. They are:

• March 30 – vs. Minnesota Twins
• April 3 – vs. Milwaukee Brewers
• April 24 – vs. Los Angeles Angels
• May 22 – vs. Seattle Mariners
• June 12 – vs. Houston Astros
• June 19 – vs. St. Louis Cardinals
• July 17 – vs. San Diego Padres
• August 7 – vs. Chicago Cubs
• August 21 – vs. Detroit Tigers
• September 7 – vs. Arizona Diamondbacks

This does not include the season opener against the Braves, as was previously reported. The home opener on Monday, March 30 has a 3:10 CT start time. It is the first time the home opener has aired on free TV since 2007.

The games will be a simulcast of the Royals broadcast on Royals.TV with the same broadcast that includes Ryan Lefebvre and Rex Hudler. For fans outside of Kansas City, those games will still be available on Royals.TV or MLB.TV.

“We know that KCTV5 helped bring the personalities and talents of our exciting team to a broader audience, so we’re thrilled to continue and grow our partnership,” siad Royals President of Business Operations Cullen Maxey in a statement. “We want to build those connections with fans, and we’re thrilled they can continue to access our games on cable, streaming, and local TV.”

Last year, the Royals also aired ten games on over-the-air television on either KCTV5 or KSMO-62 in Kansas City.

Other Royals games will air on Royals.TV, a new venture as the team ended their relationship with Main Street Sports, the company that owns FanDuel Sports Kansas City. Those games are available for a direct-to-consumer streaming option, and will be made available for certain cable and satellite providers, to be announced at a later date.

We’re trying a new series at Royals Review, a daily mid-day question of the day to hear about your opinions on a fun or pressing question affecting the Royals or baseball in general. Chime in and drop your answers below!

Every team has a few players who feel this close to being difference-makers. For the Royals, that margin might be the line between hanging around .500 and actually contending. Development isn’t linear, but some leaps matter more than others.

The Royals certainly have a few candidates for improvement this year. They tendered a contract to Jonathan India, expecting a bounce-back season. Rookie Jac Caglianone is looking to put a disappointing debut season behind him. Seth Lugo is in the first season of a multi-year deal and will hope to avoid the second-half swoon he had last year. And Cole Ragans had great strikeout numbers, but a poor ERA and he made just 13 starts.

So for today’s Royals Review Question of the Day: Which player do the Royals most need to improve in 2026, and why?

Ninth in the series. Today we look at the Cubs’veteran left fielder,

Pittsburgh-area native and former Cincinnati Bearcat Ian Edward Happ is a figure of some controversy among Cubs fans, who decry his numbers while praising his numerical consistency. Happ has amassed a tidy 22.4 bWAR (20.6 fWAR) in a nine-year career in which he has averaged 20 HR and 62 RBI in real numbers, as two of his campaigns were partial or truncated.

He’s been an MLB regular since 2021, also logging considerable time in 2017-18. He has long stretches of hitless inadequacy, which are maddening, but he is always on base. Happ hasn’t yet turned in a 100-walk season but he’s capable of it.

Which is just the thing. 24 long balls in his rookie season increased expectations he hasn’t yet delivered on, and people don’t trust the agencies that keep fitting his right hand for a Gold Glove.

He can bat 1, 3, 5, or 6 in a Counsell lineup, and has, though 1 and 3 are his most common places in the batting order. As a switch-hitter with a good eye, he’s a valuable leadoff man in today’s lineups, where sheer base-stealing speed isn’t as valuable in that spot. Happ is reasonably fast but isn’t good at the stolen-base game.

Ian Happ is in his walk year and will be needing a new deal. Plenty of fans would let him roll on to another squad. I’m not one of them, but it might depend on the length of the contract, as Happ is 31 and his skills are likely to diminish some.

The Cubs don’t have a likely replacement, though, and that complicates matters. Matt Shaw? Maybe. Prove it to me. Kevin Alcantara? Same. Dylan Carlson? I want some of what you’re smoking.

Extend Happ for three years? Do it now. Ethan Conrad and Kane Kepley aren’t ready yet, if they’re going to be. That isn’t guaranteed. And Seiya Suzuki is in his walk year, too. There’s not a lot of youth in the 2027 Free Agent list, and the guys that are good are likely to be locked in during the season, or traded.

In 2026, Happ is going to turn in a 20+ HR, 75 RBI, 90-walk season, hit around .240 and be nominated for a Gold Glove. That’s okay by me. The future is hard to see.

The primary objective for the Colorado Rockies is to solve a single question in 2026: How do you consistently win in Colorado?

For over 30 years, the team has failed to find a suitable solution. Instead, winning was based on a hope that things would work themselves out and the answers would fall in their lap. However, after six-straight losing seasons, capped by the 119 losses in 2025, the Rockies have now set off on a path to find the answers to that evergreen question.

So how will they do it?

Honestly, the answers may lie with the minor league affiliates.

We know that quality development has been lacking for the Rockies for a long while, even since their inception. Despite identifying as a “draft and develop” team, the Rockies have gotten very little out of their prospects. This will be a major area of focus for Paul DePodesta and the rest of the front office, as rehauling the infrastructure of the whole organization is paramount to solving the big league woes.

The Rockies have a unique inherent advantage when it comes to their affiliates. Playing at elevation in Colorado presents a wide range of issues when it comes to pitching at Coors Field and trying to hit on the road. The path to enlightenment has always been right in front of the organization, but they have failed to understand how to utilize their tools correctly.

Albuquerque: Thriving on the mound

When it comes to pitching, having the Triple-A affiliate in Albuquerque and Colorado Springs before that is the perfect spot for the Rockies. Thanks to similar elevations, it’s uniquely tailored for the Rockies to expose their prospects to playing in an extreme environment of that nature. The same goes for the wide range of offensive-friendly environments in the Pacific Coast League.

Pitching stats have been inflated for many years for the Triple-A affiliate. In 2025, the Isotopes had a 5.97 ERA, which, oddly enough, was only the third highest in the PCL behind Reno and Salt Lake. However, the starters had a 6.68 ERA, which was somehow an improvement on the 7.07 ERA they recorded the year before. Often, it seemed that the Rockies’ preference was that starting pitching prospects wouldn’t have to stay in Albuquerque long, feeling it’s better to experience Coors Field for itself. Triple-A became a heat lamp to keep middling depth in the forms of veterans and young players who already debuted and struggled in Colorado.

From the outside, it looked like the Rockies were afraid of what pitching in Albuquerque would do to a starting pitcher who was forced to be there for an extended period of time. It’s a valid concern, but rather than address it, they left experienced cannon fodder on minor league deals just get them through the season. As we saw in 2025, they chose to skip Triple-A options entirely and turn to someone like McCade Brown from Double-A Hartford. Ignore the problem, and hope players can just figure it out and that it would weed out the worst options.

While the Rockies try to figure out pitching at Coors Field, why not let the Isotopes stadium live up to its nickname of “The Lab”? Sure, the team has a facility of the same name in Arizona, but Albuquerque could be the place where the team can better prepare prospects to temper the extremes of Coors Field. It could help pitchers learn what to expect from their pitches so that when they are debuting in the Mile High City, they are better suited for the adaptation because they have some valuable starts under their belt in Albuquerque.

Learning to thrive on the mound in Albuquerque is way more beneficial than learning how to survive on the mound.

Spokane and Hartford: Offensive extremes

Hopefully, enjoying success on the mound in High-A and Double-A lays a foundation to build up on Triple-A, thanks to the pitching environments of Spokane and Hartford. However, the offensive conundrums can unlock the key to one of the Rockies’ toughest challenges.

The Rockies, historically, have been fairly good at home on offense and abysmal on the road. The challenge in trying to hit a ball in Denver and then moving to sea level, say San Francisco, and trying to hit a ball that is simply moving differently than it was the day before. It’s daunting for players, and it takes a unique skill set and discipline to maybe even replacement-level production.

Positioned on opposite coasts, the Rockies’ two minor league affiliates are some of the hardest places to hit. Hartford ranked middle of the Eastern League pack with a team slash line of .229/.313/.347 while Spokane slashed .239/.322/.372 in the Northwest League. Spokane’s OBP and SLG were near the bottom of their league.

Both teams showcased a lack of power in the sea level environments. It’s not much that there was a lack of power, but moreso a lack of plate discipline and approach that could lead to a more productive offense. For years, the Rockies simply focused on being aggressive at the plate and praying you don’t strikeout. Unfortunately, that approach can only take you so far as strikeouts have run rampant through the organization. Both Hartford and Spokane struggled with drawing walks, and their OBP suffered because of it. They weren’t trying to play to their environment, but rather the style of Rockies baseball that boiled down to “you just know they are going to hit” because they play at Coors.

Again, it was more about learning to survive as opposed to learning to thrive.

The Rockies have made it clear with their big league additions that the ability to get on base is a coveted trait. Getting on base on the road was especially rough and something that demands improvement. Can you guess what team finished 30th in all of baseball with a .259 OBP on the road last season?

Establishing a much better plate approach in the lower levels, Low-A Fresno included, the Rockies can go to work developing better hitters who can succeed on the road in the pitcher parks as well as the hitter-friendly confines.

Conclusion

I’m definitely excited to see what the Rockies can improve on this season at the big league level, but I’m even more intrigued to see what processes are put in place to give the team a coherent vision to start reaping the fruits of the draft in the development process.

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