Colorado Rockies

Walker, who turns 34 during the opening week of the 2025 regular season, hit .251 with 26 homers, 84 RBIs, 55 walks and 133 strikeouts in 2024.

Pose a Rockies- or MLB-related question for the Rockies Mailbag. Patrick, I am tired of seeing the Dodgers spend all this money and have millions deferred. Rip, you've got to hand it to the big-spending Dodgers: They know how to play the financial game. Let's face it: Major League Baseball is an uneven playing field.

Kris Bryant's sanctuary is the batting cage attached to his parents' home in Las Vegas. Bryant built it in 2014 as a present to his father, Mike, who first taught him how to hit and made a career out of teaching kids how to hit a baseball. Bryant used his $6.7 million signing bonus to give his father a piece of baseball heaven, including a $3,300 pitching machine. Mike named the place “The Bryant Man Cage.”

Major league pitcher IL placements increased from 212 in 2005 to 485 this year and days on the IL rose from 13,666 to 32,257.

Young is a .210 career hitter with two home runs, eight RBIs and a .725 OPS in 22 major league games and 69 plate appearances with the Chicago Cubs.

The Detroit Tigers added some catching depth on Monday, building on a group that is one of the thinnest on the roster. Detroit signed veteran catcher Brian Serven to a Minor League deal according to a report from Aram Leighton of Just Baseball. The agreement also includes an invite to Spring Training as a non-roster invitee according to Leighton. The Tigers are the fourth professional organization of Serven's eight-year professional career.

For the Colorado Rockies, even when the deck seems stacked in their favor, for whatever reason, Lady Luck never seems to be wearing purple. While luck is often defined in athletic circles as, “when preparation meets opportunity,” not sure that applies when you're dealing with ping pong balls. The latest example of the Rockies' lack of good fortune came this week at Major League Baseball's Winter Meetings. Going into the MLB Draft Lottery, the Rockies were sitting pretty.

During this week's Winter Meetings, a National League manager told me that Feltner “has the stuff to be the top arm in that rotation.” Feltner, 28, has endured a roller-coaster career, with more downs than ups. Philadelphia's Nick Castellanos scorched a line drive toward the mound in the third inning. Feltner had just enough reaction time to avoid getting hit in the face, but the baseball struck Feltner in the back of his head.

The Colorado Rockies have signed veteran catcher and former San Diego Padre Austin Nola to a minor league deal, according to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. Nola, who will turn 35 later this month, received a non-roster invitation to the Rockies' major league Spring Training camp as part of the agreement. Nola's signing brings his career full circle in a way, as the Rockies originally drafted him in the 48th round back in 2008 when he was still in high school.

Former San Francisco Giants infielder Thairo Estrada has found his next home after spending four years with the ball club. According to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com, Estrada has agreed to a one-year deal with the Colorado Rockies. If the option isn't exercised, Estrada will still be arbitration-eligible for the final time in 2026. Estrada had interest from other teams, but the Rockies are a decent landing spot for him.

After a year hiatus, Juan Soto is back in the National League after signing his mega contract with the New York Mets. It won't be as often as when he was on the San Diego Padres, but Bud Black and the Colorado Rockies must prepare for the Soto challenge once again. When that matchup does come, Black knows exactly what to expect.

The Japanese right-handed pitcher was officially posted by the Chiba Lotte Marines this week after months of speculation. Sasaki will have to secure a deal before his posting window closes on Jan. 23, though, lining up a one-week period during which he is likely to put pen to paper. Sasaki has long been tied to the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres, but Wolfe made it clear that those teams weren't the only ones going after the righty.

The Washington Nationals will have the No. 1 overall pick in the amateur draft next summer after winning the lottery in a drawing of ping-pong balls at the winter meetings Tuesday. Unlike last year, when the Nationals were ineligible after initially coming out with the top spot, they will get to make the first pick in July in Atlanta, the site of the All-Star Game. Washington was ineligible for a top-six pick last year because the collective bargaining agreement states a team that pays into the revenue-sharing plan cannot have a lottery selection in back-to-back years. The Nationals chose outfielder Dylan Crews with the No. 2 pick in 2023.

After initially possessing the best odds alongside the Miami Marlins to land the first overall pick in the draft, the Rockies slipped all the way down to the fourth pick. The Marlins fell even further to the number seven pick.

“Nothing’s been written in stone yet, and we both remain optimistic that both parties will end up happy somehow.”

Zack Veen is on the clock. The Rockies outfielder, who turns 23 on Thursday, has played four injury-ridden professional seasons and has never gotten close to making the big-league roster. The ninth overall pick of the 2020 draft out of Florida's Spruce Creek High School still needs more playing time in the minors, so he almost certainly won't begin the season on the big-league roster. While general manager Bill Schmidt still believes in Veen, Schmidt knows it's time for Veen to step up.

The 2025 regular season is still more than three months out, and the Tampa Bay Rays have already had their first game postponed. The Rays announced Monday that they would no longer be facing the Colorado Rockies on March 27, which was supposed to be Opening Day for all 30 teams across MLB. Instead, the Rays and Rockies will open their three-game series on March 28 – previously scheduled to be an off day – before wrapping things up as planned on March 29 and 30. The move was made in order to provide additional time to prepare George M. Steinbrenner Field for the Rays' arrival.

The Rockies head to Dallas with a game plan, but don't expect them to make any dramatic deals in the “Big D.” General manager Bill Schmidt continues to believe that the club — undergoing a youth movement led by shortstop Ezequiel Tovar, center fielder Brenton Doyle and intriguing pitching prospects — is headed in the right direction. ESPN, for example, has the Rockies ranked dead last in its latest major league power rankings, even behind a White Sox team coming off a 121-loss season. At baseball's Winter Meetings, which begin Monday at the Dallas Hilton Anatole Hotel, Schmidt will continue shopping for a couple of veteran players.

Colorado announced the agreement after failing to offer a 2025 contract to Brendan Rodgers, making the former first-round pick a free agent.