2025 was a bad year for the Colorado Rockies that included many mid-season shakeups.
On Mother’s Day, we saw long-time manager Bud Black and bench coach Mike Redmond relieved of their duties and Warren Schaeffer promoted to interim manager. (I remember the date because I was at Disneyland when the news broke.) It was something I’d advocated for before, but suddenly, we got to see how “The Schaeffer Way” would look in real time at the major league level. It was in less-than-ideal circumstances, but I do believe we saw Schaeffer take the sinking Titanic and turn it into Jack Sparrow’s dingy floating into Port Royal.
Entering 2026, Schaeffer has been given the reins full-time and is taking the opportunity to make this team his own after merely keeping them afloat in 2025.
So far, from everything we’ve seen, it’s been a marked departure from the Bud Black years. Every practice is detailed and scheduled, and there are opportunities for players and coaches to learn from each other — not just players learning from coaches. Batting cage time is also built into the schedule rather than being expected to happen on players’ own time, and they’re even starting the day later so players can get more sleep. It’s a very clear change from the previous regime, but we still have yet to see how this “Schaeffer Way” will translate over a 162-game season.
The Manager
If there are two words to describe Warren Schaeffer, they’re probably “communicator” and “relationship builder.”
Throughout his tenure in the Rockies organization, Schaeffer has built a reputation on being an excellent communicator fosters relationships with everybody – players, coaches, media, you name it. And that’s one of the first things people notice about him.
“He remembers your kids’ names and your wife’s name,” said new hitting coach Brett Pill. “Obviously, that’s huge with Schaeff, and one of the reasons why I’m fired up to be on his staff.”
The players concur with the decision to give Schaeffer the full-time position.
“First and foremost, bringing Schaeff back was huge for us,” said outfielder Mickey Moniak. “I think just what he brings to a clubhouse day in and day out and what he brings to this organization… I think he’s the right guy for the job and the right guy to lead us.”
And PBO Paul DePodesta stands by his decision to retain Schaeffer, despite a complete overhaul in just about every other area of the organization.
“One of the first orders of business when I came on was to hire a manager, but we had an interim one in place in Warren,” DePodesta told MLB Network on Saturday. “I dug as much as I could around the organization – people who were still with the organization, also people who had been there previously – and everyone raved about him! So I thought, ‘OK, this is a real candidate.’
“And then as I got to spend more and more hours within the first couple weeks on the job it just became obvious,” he continued. “He literally checked every box we were looking for. I mean, great passion, great relationships with the players, terrific work ethic, wanted to be a great partner with us. So for all of those reasons, I just thought he was the obvious pick.”
And that work ethic can be traced all the way back to Schaeffer’s time with the Double-A Tulsa Drillers.
“I played with him in Double-A,” said former Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado. “I was young at the time. I was a pain in the butt at that time. But we got along great because he loved that I worked. And he was a big worker, too. He took ground balls everyday. And the one thing about Schaeff – there were times where he wasn’t starting in those games, but he was still working every day and never complained. He showed up to work.”
Schaeffer may have hung up his spikes in 2013, but he turned to coaching and never looked back – climbing the ladder from Low-A Asheville all the way up to the majors. Much of that has to do with his communication and relationship building abilities.
And not only is Schaeffer a good communicator himself, but he has built a staff of good communicators and teachers who are ready to build up the Rockies from the studs.
On Sunday, I asked Schaeffer to describe each member of his coaching staff in one word, and here’s what he had to say about them:
Dugout Coaches
Bench Coach, Jeff Pickler: “Prepared”
Assistant Bench Coach, Ron Gideon: “Wise”
Jeff Pickler, 50, joined the Rockies from the Cincinnati Reds after spending 2019-2024 in the same role. Prior to that, he spent time with the Minnesota Twins, Los Angeles Dodgers, San DIego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks. He also spent one year as an assistant coach for the University of Arizona Wildcats. Most notably, he worked with GM Josh Byrnes during his time with the Diamondbacks, Padres and Dodgers.
Ron Gideon has been with the Rockies since 1996. He spent time as a manager at every level except for Triple-A and MLB, but was promoted to a major league role in 2017. He became the first base coach before the 2019 season, and was moved to assistant bench coach this offseason. Gideon, 62, is the longest-tenured coach on the staff, as well as the oldest.
Hitting Coaches
Hitting Coach, Brett Pill: “Relentless”
Assistant Hitting Coach, Jordan Pacheco: “Smooth”
Brett Pill and Jordan Pacheco couldn’t be more different.
Pacheco, 40, was drafted in the ninth round of the 2007 MLB Draft by the Rockies and made his MLB debut with them four years later. He played 3.5 years in Colorado before being DFA’d in 2014 and being claimed by the Diamondbacks. He played 1.5 years in the desert before finishing his playing career in Cincinnati. He attempted multiple comebacks, but never made another MLB roster. However, he then returned to the Rockies in 2021 with – you guessed it – Warren Schaeffer.
“I’ve known [Pacheco] for a very, very long time,” Schaeffer said. “He’s one of my close friends, and he is great at what he does. There’s nobody more positive in a dugout than him, and hitting is so hard that you need a special person in there with positivity.
“And he’s able to teach everything. The players flock to him. That’s how you can tell good hitting coaches – if the players are around them and on TV you can see it on the camera in the dugout, the players are around ‘Checo’ all the time.”
Meanwhile, Pill, 41, came to the Rockies alongside Byrnes after spending four seasons with the Tulsa Drillers (now the Double-A Dodgers). He is brand new to the organization, but brings a lot of good ideas.
“He’s fantastic,” Schaeffer said. “He has a really, really solid background, He’s just been fantastic so far in there in terms of his preparation and what he’s working on with the guys.”
And Schaeffer noticed the important thing about having two coaches from very different backgrounds.
“Probably the most important thing of it all is [Pill] and Pacheco are already one,” he said. “Things get tricky when one guy’s saying one thing and one guy’s saying the other thing. But those two are rock solid with each other, and it’s gonna be a fun ride.”
(You can read more about Pill’s approach to the Rockies here.)
Pitching Coaches
Pitching Coach, Alon Leichman: “Unique”
Assistant Pitching Coach, Gabe Ribas: “Polished”
Bullpen Coach, Matt Buschmann: “Funny”
Alon Leichman, 36, certainly does have a unique reputation. The thing that follows him around is that he likes to call pitches from the dugout, which is something he did for the Miami Marlins and Cincinnati Reds before he came to the Rockies. So far, the players have been gravitating to his presence.
“Today, I threw with Alon because he wanted to work on my sweeper and cutter,” said Zach Agnos on February 15. “So it was good, and he got to see it firsthand. We had a good talk, and he’s kind of building up some confidence in us, which is good too. He just kept being like, ‘You’re nasty, bro, you’re nasty. Trust [yourself].’ He’s like, ‘You’re nasty!’ So it’s cool to hear. It’s always nice to hear – I believe it – but it never hurts to hear.”
Agnos also mentioned working with the new coaches has been “the most fun [he’s] had playing catch.”
Ryan Feltner is also on board with pitches being called from the dugout.
“I think [Alon] has a lot of good information that he can go off of,” Feltner said on February 14. “And if he wants to call the pitches when I’m pitching, I would love that. I think for me, it clears up a lot of mental space. It’s just another thing that I don’t have to deal with, and I can just focus on pitching.”
After spending five years as the director of pitching with the Detroit Tigers, Ribas, 45, now joins the Rockies. Before Detroit, he also spent time with – you guessed it – the Dodgers. He worked extensively with their pitching development programs.
Matt Buschmann, 41, has served in various player development and pitching coach roles with the Chicago Cubs, Toronto Blue Jays and San Francisco Giants. (I’ll have more on Buschmann later this week.)
Field Coaches
First Base/Outfield Coach, Doug Bernier: “Energetic”
Third Base Coach, Andy González: “Machine”
Bernier, 45, is another returner to Schaeffer’s staff. He previously served as a scout, as well as a Major League data and game-planning coordinator from 2020-2021 and in player development as defensive coordinator from 2022-2023. He oversaw infield and outfield instruction, and seems to be doing the same this year.
You can see Bernier in action here:
And here:
González, 44, also returns to the Rockies staff after serving as assistant hitting coach and interim third base coach in 2025.
Catching Coaches
Bullpen Catcher & Assistant to Baseball Operations, Kyle Cunningham: “Controversial”
Catching Coach & Bullpen Catcher, Chris Rabago: “Sneaky”
Cunningham, 31, and Rabago, 32, are both returning from the 2025 season. Rabago is designated as the catching instructor in 2026, while Cunningham will work more with game planning and advanced scouting like he did in 2025.
Closing Thoughts
I could keep writing about each coach, and I’m still getting to know all of them (keep an eye out for more articles!). But from everything I’ve gathered in and around the Rockies clubhouse, the vibes really are immaculate. From the music in the hallways to the focus on the most basic of basics… Camp Schaeffer is in full swing and they’re really focusing on the entire human playing baseball.
As the old saying goes, “they don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care” and that rings true for this coaching staff. Warren Schaeffer built a culture of trust and learning as manager, and that has rippled down to every coach they hired. Hopefully that will translate to more wins on the field over the next few years, but so far, the returns are promising.
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