The Rockies Have To Be Better Than Last Year, Right? Not So Fast

Colorado Rockies Preview

I’ve made it to the finish line. I’ve probably written about 15,000 words about baseball teams, and there hasn’t been an actual pitch thrown in the season. I wish I could show you all of them in one spot, in a list, but feel free to click on my name and go back over the past two months and see specific teams. I did them in order of last year’s ranks, so if you are looking for someone, the better they were, the further back you’ll have to go. That’s why I am ending with the Rockies, because they are terrible and will once again be terrible. 

Last year recap: 

I said this about the White Sox in my last article, but they were so bad that they weren’t even really involved in trade talks. A team so bad that people don’t really want any of their players is just absurd. The team didn’t win their 10th game of the year until June 2nd. Think about that. Two full months of baseball without 10 wins. They had 50 losses before they had 10 wins. They were 22-74 at the All-Star Break. For the year they did have four winning streaks of at least three games, which is something positive, I guess. They still lost almost 120 games last year, ending the season 43-119. 

Offseason moves:

When a team is this bad, you go out and try to build the team up or trade for prospects, right? Well, they at least tried to add some guys. They brought in Jose Quintana and Michael Lorenzen, both of whom are solid pitchers. They signed Willi Castro, who is a pretty decent player overall and a hitter. They did lose German Marquez, but I’m not overly upset by his departure. 

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JULY 23:  Jose Quintana #62 of the New York Mets pitches during the first inning against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on July 23, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

Roster:

In order for the Rockies to improve, they have to get excellence out of Quintana and Lorenzen. They won’t. Quintana has increased his ERA each year since 2022. Now he pitches at the hardest place to pitch in baseball. Lorenzen might be a decent option. I could see both of these guys getting traded, though. Kyle Freeland is still an arm I’d love to see somewhere else because I do think he has talent. An offseason signing I didn’t mention was Tomoyuki Sugano, who gave up 33 homers last year for Baltimore. The offense will probably be a little better with Castro, but we aren’t talking about an overhaul. This is more like trying to wipe up the ocean with one roll of paper towels. 

Betting outlook:

Can the Rockies win 60 games this year? The books don’t expect it. They are at 54.5 right now, which means they do still improve by 12 games from last year. I do think the pitching staff is better, so I don’t hate it. I also think it would be hard to lose games the same way as last year. I’m not going to play it one way or another, but I’d lean to the under. I think they will trade away anyone with value. Also, do you want to depend on this team to win 12 more games? Not worth the sweat. For the record, the White Sox went 41-121 in 2024 and improved to 60-102 last year, so there is a bit of precedent for the Rockies to win at least 55 games. 

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