Rockies GM discusses Trade Deadline and future goals

ANAHEIM -- Rockies general manager Bill Schmidt lives at an even keel that is not in keeping with the heated rush of the Trade Deadline. Talks with other teams led to the acquisitions of Minor League starters Bradley Blalock and Yujanyer Herrera from the Brewers and reliever Luis Peralta from the Pirates. However, the run-up to the Deadline offered the promise of more.

So, Schmidt moves ahead, but he understands that after what will be six straight losing seasons, the Rockies must move forward quickly.

“There are a lot of things people don’t see,” Schmidt said from the dugout at Angel Stadium before Wednesday night’s game. “But at the end of the day, they’ve got to see to believe.

“We’ve got to continue growing.”

Schmidt counts the last two Deadline periods as a success because the organization has added multiple starters and relievers. As manager Bud Black has said on occasion, a team needs to enter a season with a minimum eight starters capable of winning in the Majors. With free-agent pitchers unwilling to choose the Rockies and Coors Field, the numbers accumulated through the Draft and trade have to augment what the Rockies have.

Schmidt is calling on the current players -- some of whom Schmidt talked to other teams about but either didn’t receive or like the offers -- to become healthier and better.

Unless offseason deals materialize, righty starters Germán Márquez (returning from Tommy John surgery) and Cal Quantrill, lefty starter Austin Gomber, and second baseman Brendan Rodgers -- all of whom Schmidt feels are capable of more -- head into the final year of their contracts/club control.

On the youth side, shortstop Ezequiel Tovar, center fielder Brenton Doyle, reliever Victor Vodnik (a deadline acquisition from the Braves last year) and first baseman Michael Toglia (recently) must keep moving forward. Outfielder Nolan Jones (a 20-homer, 20-steal man last year) and relievers Jake Bird and Justin Lawrence must regain momentum after battling slumps and injuries. Outfielder Jordan Beck debuted and was going through growing pains before sustaining a broken left hand -- but he is rehabbing at Triple-A Albuquerque.

So, the 2025 Rockies will be focused on bounce-back candidates, continued improvement of mainstay players such as Rodgers and 2024 All-Star Ryan McMahon and younger players.

All will work better if the Rockies’ seven-year, $182 million signing, Kris Bryant, can avoid injuries that have prevented him from being the player the club envisioned -- or any measurable factor at all.

“We need KB to stay on the field,” Schmidt said.

Still, the argument will be that the Rockies should have moved more experienced players for more prospects, which may have been punting in 2025.

“You talk to teams and try to find things to match up with,” Schmidt said. “Sometimes you do. Sometimes you don’t. Some other guys made decisions, short-term, long-term views of things. It wasn’t from lack of effort and conversation. Did we get to the finish line with some deals? No.

“But we got a feel for the value of some of our players. We’re trying to get better.”

The Rockies could not move the expiring contract of catcher Díaz, the 2023 All-Star Game's most valuable player, because of injuries to both calves. No. 9 prospect Drew Romo, the 35th overall pick and possibly the team’s catching future, is knocking. Schmidt hears him and assures him that if Romo proves ready, there will be a way to get him experience.

“These things have a way of working themselves out,” he said.

There is a logic to it all. Between experienced starters and prospects en route, the Rockies could enter 2025 feeling good about their rotation. The final weeks of the season promise to bring fresh faces for the lineup, and the bullpen will keep receiving lessons -- even if, as has been the case all year, they are hard ones. Pitching-wise, lefty starter and No. 14 prospect Carson Palmquist has been moved from Double-A Hartford to Triple-A Albuquerque, Rockies player development director Chris Forbes said Wednesday.

After watching the club for the final two months, Schmidt will be called upon to determine what is needed. Right now, a closer seems to be on the wish list. Possibly, some of the players entering their contract year will match up better with others in trades.

“We’ve got to get better, and we’re getting closer to that,” Schmidt said. “At the Trade Deadline, I like the arms that we brought in. We’ve got seven weeks to show that. We'll look at some young guys and see how the offseason goes with that.”

After assessing the current team, Schmidt’s mission is to make the moves to produce a team worth seeing and believing.

2025 is a good time to show.