It’s the dawn of a new era for the Colorado Rockies.
After losing 119 games and enduring the worst season in franchise history, the Rockies hired Paul DePodesta of Moneyball fame to lead their baseball operations department.
One of his first major decisions involved what to do at manager, and he opted for stability by retaining Warren Schaeffer, who replaced Bud Black last season after the team’s 7-40 start.
According to MLB.com’s Manny Randhawa, the duo held a press conference together on Wednesday where they discussed Schaeffer’s role and the state of the franchise heading into next season.
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Both DePodesta and Schaeffer spoke at length about Colorado’s future and getting the franchise back on track, leading to a particularly optimistic prediction from Schaeffer.
“The ultimate goal is to bring consistent winning seasons to this organization,” Schaeffer said. “You’re going to see winning baseball in Denver a lot sooner than you think.”
“You’re going to see winning baseball in Denver a lot sooner than you think.”
Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer and new president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta held a press conference this morning and discussed the future of the franchise:https://t.co/9TZkjdvpst
— Manny Randhawa (@MannyOnMLB) November 26, 2025
Coming off three straight seasons with over 100 losses, the Rockies have a lot of work to do before they can start playing winning baseball again. Colorado hasn’t finished above .500 since 2018, and most of the roster has turned over since then.
While the Rockies have enjoyed sporadic spurts of success since their inaugural season in 1993, they’ve yet to build a consistent winner. They haven’t had three straight winning seasons since the mid-1990s, and only once have they made the playoffs in consecutive years.
It also remains to be seen if Schaeffer has the skills to be a winning manager, as Colorado went 36-86 under his watch last season. He has a lot to prove, as does DePodesta after his recent failures with the Cleveland Browns.
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Both Schaeffer and DePodesta are committed to turning the Rockies around, so at least they’re on the same page in that regard.
Both men praised each other, with DePodesta explaining why he stuck with Schaeffer rather than search for a new manager.
“Not only is [Schaeffer] a connector, he places importance on collaboration,” DePodesta said. “I think he’s a great teammate and partner, not only with the front office but with his coaches. I think he’s very open-minded. He clearly works extremely hard and has a really high care factor — both for the Rockies, in particular, but also for the job at hand. There’s a great respect for the game and a great respect for the organization.”
Collaboration will be important, as righting the ship will be a team effort. Meanwhile, Schaeffer said he appreciate’s DePodesta’s approach and work style.
“I think the first thing you notice about Paul is he’s a process-oriented guy,” Schaeffer said. “You know how important the process is to me, and putting legitimate processes into play that push this thing forward and that can create a sustainable winning culture — because that’s the goal, to bring winning baseball back to Denver.”
Hopefully their similarities and shared goals will lead to a productive professional relationship that benefits the organization as a whole.