ORLANDO, Fla. — Warren Schaeffer is optimistic by nature. Monday afternoon, he was exponentially optimistic.
Colorado’s 40-year-old manager, having shed his interim tag, now gets a fresh start. He’s joined Paul DePodesta, the new president of baseball operations, along with Josh Byrnes, the new general manager, in an effort to raise the Rockies from the ashes of their 119-loss season.
Schaeffer will organize spring training 2026 his way.
“I’m through the roof about it,” he said. “This is something you look forward to for a long time. The process that we’re in right now, building a staff, is something that I’ve been wanting to do for a very, very long time.
“Getting a bunch of guys on the same page, pulling the same way, looking to develop the same mindset with these players. … We’ll try to create a new culture in spring training of what the Rockies look like moving forward.
“It’s a fresh start. With Paul coming in, with J.B. coming in, it just feels so fresh and new and exciting. It feels like we have a solid, good road ahead of us.”
Rockies fans will be forgiven if they counter Schaeffer’s optimism with pessimism. They have been down this offseason road before.
Still, there are indications that things are changing. The club has already jettisoned first baseman Michael Toglia, the first-round pick in 2019. It also cut loose catcher Drew Romo, who was the 35th overall pick in 2020 — the highest the Rockies have ever drafted a catcher. Those are signs that the new brass is setting the bar higher, no matter the player’s pedigree.
Rockies looking at possible free agents to fill gaping hole at first base
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Plus, DePodesta says he's willing to try new things. Perhaps nothing as crazy as the "piggyback rotation" that failed so miserably in 2012, but new things nonetheless.
Asked, "How mad scientist are you?" DePodesta answered: "We've had some conversations with our pitching folks, and they've said, 'What do you think about this?' Or, 'What do you think about that?' And I've told them, everything is on the table."
"We've also had some good, objective data internally about some different things that may work, and other things, maybe not so much. We've already had some really interesting discussions, and I'm really encouraged about the direction it's already headed."
That direction could include a new way to call pitches, via a new pitching coach.
According to a source, the Rockies will hire Alon Leichman as their new pitching coach. The club has not announced the move. Leichman's hire was first reported by MLB.com on Monday night. Leichman served as assistant pitching coach for Miami last season and held the same post with the Reds the two previous years.
Late last season, Marlins pitching coach Daniel Moskos and Leichman called pitches from the dugout. Whether or not the Rockies will go in that direction remains to be seen, but Schaffer has said he's open to some experimentation.
Colorado could also be changing its international team-building philosophy. While the Rockies have long invested in players from Latin America, they have largely ignored that talent pipeline from Japan and Korea.
DePodesta said that's going to change, and see the Rockies hunting for talent in Asia.
"I absolutely think it's important," he said. "We've talked about a necessity for us to be sort of active in every possible avenue to acquire talent. So, whether it's Latin America, whether it's Asia, whether it's the waiver wire, major league free agents, trades -- I mean, all of it -- I think we have to be actively involved in all of those to find some potential solutions for us."
For Schaeffer, improvement is all about taking care of business.
"I look at the daily process," he said. "Are we getting better every single day? That's legitimate ... and there are so many areas where we can get better.
"Obviously, with the season we had last year, there are a ton of areas that we can get better at. It's just a matter of being able to track them, set the standard and stick to it."
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