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Purple Row

https://www.purplerow.com/ | 223 entries published

Of, by, and for Rockies fans. Every day.

Latest Entries

Evaluating Willi Castro’s role with the Rockies

Last Thursday ESPN reported that the Colorado Rockies had reached an agreement with veteran super utilityman Willi Castro on a two-year deal worth $12.8 million. Interestingly, the report came as Rockies president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta was holding a media availability following the official signing of right-handed pitcher Michael Lorenzen. DePodesta was cagey when […]

about 2 hours ago | 0 reads

Purple Row After Dark: Thoughts on the Rockies’ new-and-improved front office?

Late Friday, we learned that the Rockies made another addition to their front office staff, Chad MacDonald. (Read Thomas Harding’s write up here.) MacDonald joins the Rockies as special assistant, player personnel. The Rockies have made significant additions this offseason in terms of their front office personnel. (Read about some of those additions here, here, […]

about 11 hours ago | 0 reads

Colorado Rockies prospects: No. 29, Ethan Hedges

29. Ethan Hedges (58 points, 12 ballots) Colorado’s third round pick in the 2025 draft (77th overall) out of the University of Southern California was Hedges. The 6’1” 21-year-old righty was a two-way player during his draft year but will be a third baseman as a professional. Hedges signed for $950k, about $110k below the slot […]

about 24 hours ago | 0 reads

What Michael Lorenzen has revealed about the rebuilding Rockies

Last Thursday, at the same time news was breaking that the Colorado Rockies had arrived at a deal with Willi Castro, Paul DePodesta and Michael Lorenzen addressed media in two separate Zoom availabilities. Last week, Evan Lang provided an overview of Lorenzen’s career and a glimpse of what the signing might mean, and Sam Bradfield […]

1 day ago | 1 read

This Week in Purple: It’s promotion (schedule) season!

The weekend is a great time to kick back and reflect. This Week in Purple is the place to catch up on the news from our team at Purple Row. You’ll find links to Rockpiles and other content below as well as a platform for community discussion in the comments. The Colorado Rockies released their […]

3 days ago | 0 reads

Purple Row After Dark: Which Denver team gets the next parade?

Our friends over at The Good Phight asked an interesting question earlier this week: Which Philadelphia team will win the next championship? “Phillies, Flyers, Sixers, Eagles, Union,” they asked, “who’s winning it all?” So as we head into the first Denver Broncos home playoff game in a decade — with the Denver Nuggets and Colorado […]

3 days ago | 0 reads

Michael Lorenzen is ready to be a problem solver at Coors Field

The Colorado Rockies officially signed 34-year-old RHP Michael Lorenzen to a one-year, $8 million deal on Thursday morning after the signing was first reported last Wednesday. Lorenzen met with the media over Zoom on Thursday afternoon to discuss his ties to the Rockies and his excitement about working with this team. “One of the things […]

4 days ago | 0 reads

Colorado Rockies prospects: No. 30, Oscar Pujols

30. Oscar Pujols (55 points, 9 ballots) Pujols was Colorado’s top international free agent pitcher signing in the 2024 period, receiving a $600k bonus. The 6’3”, 155-pound starter is in the upper 80s/low 90s now and boasts a promising curveball. MLB Pipeline ranked Pujols 36th among their international free agent prospects from 2024 (and second among pitching prospects) as a […]

4 days ago | 0 reads

Schaeffer wants more first-pitch strikes. How do the Rockies measure up?

In about one month, baseball begins again. On Feb. 12, Rockies pitchers and catchers will report to spring training. On Feb. 17, the position players will follow. This spring actually represents a renewal and refreshing change for the Colorado Rockies, who are being led by a new front office and coaching staff. As they work […]

4 days ago | 1 read

Purple Row After Dark: Giving the Rockies a pre-spring training grade

It has been a news-filled 10 days here at Purple Row. Think about it. Over the course of the last week, the Rockies have done the following: As Skyler Timmins noted today, Add to all that, the Rockies front office is routinely communicating with media. Last week, Paul DePodesta and Josh Byrnes answered an email […]

4 days ago | 1 read

Rockies sign Willi Castro

The Colorado Rockies are bringing another veteran free agent into the fold, as ESPN’s Jorge Castillo reported Thursday afternoon that Willi Castro will be donning purple pinstripes on a two-year, $12.8 million deal. The switch-hitting super utilityman is largely a middle infielder, but has played significant innings at every defensive position save first base and […]

5 days ago | 0 reads

Rockies officially sign RHP Michael Lorenzen

On Thursday morning, the Colorado Rockies made their first Major League free agent signing official. Veteran right-handed pitcher Michael Lorenzen will join the Rockies’ starting rotation for the 2026 season on a one-year, $8 million deal. The contract includes a $9 million club option for the 2027 season. The deal was first reported last Wednesday. […]

5 days ago | 0 reads

Rockies 2026 international prospects signing tracker

Today marks the start of MLB’s 2026 international prospects signing period, and all 30 teams can now start adding top amateur talent from across the world to their systems. Verbal agreements have likely been reached with plenty of them, so we’re likely to hear of numerous prospects signing today even though it’s the very first […]

5 days ago | 0 reads

Colorado Rockies prospect rankings, pre-season 2026: Numbers 35 to 31

It’s time to reveal the five players who made it the closest to the pre-season 2026 top 30 Purple Row Prospects (PuRPs) list, the Honorable Mention PuRPS, as voted on by the Purple Row community recently. For each player, I’ll include a link to individual stats and contract status (via Baseball-Reference), as well as notes on […]

5 days ago | 0 reads

What Chase Dollander could learn from former Rockies’ pitchers

Last week, I suggested Chase Dollander could be a bounce-back candidate in 2026, despite only completing his rookie year in 2025. However, he could also just be a candidate for continued development. But then a comment caught my eye from Colorado Springs Northsider: A number of Rockies pitchers have taken a season or two (Cook […]

5 days ago | 0 reads

Purple Row After Dark: The 2026 Colorado Rockies ZiPS projections

We haven’t really had a chance to talk about it on the site, but last week, FanGraph’s Dan Szymborski dropped his projections for the 2026 Colorado Rockies. You may read them here. You will not be surprised to learn that ZiPS is not especially optimistic about the Rockies as they head into the season. Here’s […]

5 days ago | 0 reads

Colorado Rockies prospect rankings, pre-season 2026: Numbers 40-36

After revealing the players who appeared on a single ballot on Monday and six multi-ballot players yesterday, it’s time to write about the five players who fell just short from Honorable Mention Purple Row Prospect (PuRP) status in the pre-season 2026 voting. For each player, I’ll include a link to individual stats and contract status (via Baseball-Reference), […]

6 days ago | 0 reads

Should the Rockies revisit their 2012 piggyback plan?

The Colorado Rockies are trying to reinvent themselves for 2026. With a new front office and coaching staff in place, the intention is to come up with a way to be successful in Colorado. Obviously, pitching is the team’s biggest area of focus, and President of Baseball Operations Paul DePodesta has mentioned several times that […]

6 days ago | 0 reads

Purple Row After Dark: Would you listen to an MLB broadcast without commentary?

Last week, Joe Lemire of Sports Business Journal reported on possible enhancement coming to sports broadcasts on the Peacock Network. There are plenty of enhancements coming down the pike, but this is the statement that caught the attention of most sports fans: [David Bohunek, NBCUniversal SVP of Global Video Engineering] shared a story from Peacock’s first […]

MLB

6 days ago | 0 reads

Nolan Arenado agrees to a trade with the Diamondbacks

This morning, Nolan Arenado was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks with Katie Woo first reporting a deal with close. Later, Jeff Passan confirmed the move. Nic Piecoro had the salary details: And Mark Feinsand added this: In return, the Cardinals will receive RHP Jack Martinez, who was selected in the 8th round of last year’s […]

7 days ago | 0 reads

Colorado Rockies prospect rankings, pre-season 2026: Numbers 46-41

After revealing the players who appeared on a single ballot yesterday, it’s time to write about some players that were named on multiple ballots but who fell short from Honorable Mention Purple Row Prospect (PuRP) status in the pre-season 2026 voting. Today, I’ll reveal the first six names in this category and tomorrow the other five […]

MLB

7 days ago | 0 reads

Is Troy Johnston (part of) the Rockies’ answer at first base?

If there’s been a recurring question at Purple Row this offseason, it’s been this one: Who will play first base for the Colorado Rockies in 2026? Early in the offseason, Michael Toglia was DFA’d while Warming Bernabel elected free agency and signed an MiLB contract with the Washington Nationals. These moves left Blaine Crim the […]

7 days ago | 0 reads

Which additional free agent starter might the Rockies sign?

Let’s use tonight’s Purple Row After Dark to build on a conversation started this morning in Skyler Timmins’ Rockpile about the Colorado Rockies needing more length from their starting rotation. In Thomas Harding’s last week, yesterday, Rockies general manager Josh Byrnes made clear that the Rockies are looking for a couple of veteran starters. His […]

7 days ago | 0 reads

Colorado Rockies prospect rankings, pre-season 2026: single-ballot players

The pre-season Purple Row Prospects (PuRPs) voting period has finished, so it’s time to reveal the community’s top 30 prospects in the Colorado system. These prospects will be revealed over the next several weeks to give fans an overview of players who could make an impact on the Colorado Rockies soon. The trade of Josh Grosz for […]

MLB

8 days ago | 0 reads

What Michael Lorenzen could mean for the Rockies

Last Wednesday evening it was reported that the Colorado Rockies had made their first free agent Major League deal of the off-season. While the move is not yet official, the Rockies are said to be bringing in veteran right-handed pitcher Michael Lorenzen on a one-year, $8 million deal. Bringing in Lorenzen—who is expected to be […]

8 days ago | 0 reads