{"id":493718,"date":"2026-02-27T13:50:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T13:50:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/493718\/"},"modified":"2026-02-27T13:50:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T13:50:08","slug":"colorado-rockies-news-rockies-gm-josh-byrnes-on-maxing-out-and-adaptability","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/493718\/","title":{"rendered":"Colorado Rockies news: Rockies GM Josh Byrnes on maxing out and adaptability"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Rockies have always prided themselves on being a draft-and-develop team. Without the dollars to match the Dodgers or Yankees, they have to; however, they haven\u2019t excelled in either area<\/a> in recent years.<\/p>\n

Enter Colorado\u2019s new general manager Josh Brynes, and his plan for development. Byrnes spent the last 11 years in Los Angeles, overseeing player development and scouting for the back-to-back reigning World Series Champion Dodgers \u2014 an organization that drew high praise from superstar Bryce Harper in a recent interview with The Athletic<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt bothers me when everybody talks about the Dodgers spending money. No, they draft, they develop, they do it the right way,\u201d Harper said in a Feb. 15 article. \u201cThey understand what it takes to be the best team in baseball.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now Brynes will be bringing his philosophies on what worked in Los Angeles to Colorado, where the Rockies are coming off six straight losing seasons, including three straight 100-plus loss campaigns. Byrnes recently spoke with Purple Row to talk about his mindset on building a new development plan for prospects and veterans alike.<\/p>\n

Brynes explained that he likes to think about where a player has been, where he\u2019s at now, and where he\u2019s going. The end goal is always to collaborate with multiple coaches and analysts to make a plan for \u201cmaxing out players.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGetting the very best out of them is critical, and all that goes into that,\u201d Byrnes said at spring training in Arizona. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of in the offseason, we\u2019re looking at all the data and video and thinking about it and talking about it, and then when we get here, we share it with the player, but I think that sort of mindset and all that goes into it is critical.\u201d<\/p>\n

Byrnes, along with other members of the front office and coaching staff, is in the middle of this process right now \u2014 one month out from the season opener in Miami. Byrnes emphasized that it\u2019s not a definitive list with easy answers. Instead, it\u2019s a framework, \u201cwritten in pencil,\u201d that will be changed as needed. Most importantly, it\u2019s a collaborative effort.<\/p>\n

\u201c[For] a garden variety player plan, we\u2019ll probably bring in \u2014 and that\u2019s just a small part \u2014 let\u2019s say six or eight people who have direct contact with the player,\u201d Byrnes said. \u201cAnd that could be a hitting coach. It could be someone on the quantitative side, someone from performance science. [We\u2019ll] put our heads together and try to come up with a few relevant points that are actionable for the player.\u201d<\/p>\n

These could be for a player who is in their first Major League level and climbing through the farm system for the only promotion that Brynes believes matters \u2014 the one to the Big Leagues \u2014 or for a seasoned veteran who struggled recently after having successful seasons in the past, like new Rockies Jake McCarthy, Edouard Julien, or Willi Castro. Each plan is unique, but all are detail-oriented and data-driven.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of layers to it. But I think the main thing is even the players feel like we\u2019re just relentless, thinking about every which way we can get the very best out of them,\u201d Byrnes said. \u201cThen we are in communication with them. It\u2019s not hidden. It\u2019s shared with them. That\u2019s really important.\u201d<\/p>\n

The same thing goes for pitchers. Byrnes mentioned talking with Kyle Freeland and other veteran starting pitchers about how to stay ahead of hitters and being able to play at a high level year in and year out.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do think it\u2019s arguably the most important thing we can do is just like that constant drumbeat of \u2018how do we get the very best out of these guys?\u2019 At that point in their career, [the pitchers are] curious. [They ask] \u2018What do you see? What can I do?\u2019 It\u2019s a constant process of adjustments or adaptation, but also relying on your strengths,\u201d Byrnes said. \u201cThat\u2019s the fun part. Ideally, and I\u2019ve seen it, it really energizes the players. This grind, the actual daily work, is fun because they\u2019re just chasing their best version.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a member of an NL West opponent\u2019s baseball operations team, Byrnes was already familiar with a lot of the players in the Rockies system, as well as the new players the team added in the offseason. Byrnes believes there is \u201cquite a bit of talent\u201d on the roster, but also knows that some of the players were brought up before they were ready and were set up to fail because of it. It\u2019s not a rare occurrence or something unique to the Rockies, but now it\u2019s time to correct it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe game\u2019s hard. Failure is part of baseball, so we\u2019re not gonna stigmatize it,\u201d Byrnes said. \u201cWe\u2019ll learn from it and push forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another important feature in Byrnes\u2019s outlook on development is positional flexibility for position players. Having outfielders who can play multiple spots, having utility players who can move around the infield and having players who are willing to change up position, depending on team need and ability, are key characteristics to earn a spot on the Rockies roster. Byrnes specifically pointed out the positional versatility of prospect Cole Carrigg, also known as the \u201csuper utility player\u201d<\/a> who can play every position and is a switch-hitter, and Willi Castro<\/a>, who can play all three outfield positions, as well as second base, shortstop and third base, as huge assets for Colorado.<\/p>\n

Byrnes oversaw successful positional changes and adaptability from Dodgers like Kik\u00e9 Hernandez, Chris Taylor, Tommy Edman, Mookie Betts and Max Muncy. He believes their desire to help the team was very valuable.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think [playing multiple positions] is incredibly important. I mean, obviously, it was a big part of how we built rosters with the Dodgers,\u201d Byrnes said. \u201cI\u2019ve talked to a lot of our players about it, so I think they know how important it is for them. I mean, it\u2019s almost like it\u2019s good for you, it\u2019s good for us. It makes the whole thing work.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whether it\u2019s evaluating players to trade for, to sign as free agents, or to draft, positional versatility will be a staple of the Colorado Rockies under Byrnes. So is curiosity, a desire to win and a drive to solve problems that have long plagued the Rockies.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we are creating this environment that is a constant every day. We love baseball. We love the sort of puzzles we\u2019re solving. We love the competition. We love all that,\u201d Brynes said. \u201cIf that\u2019s an environment you want to be in, this will be great for you. If you\u2019re kind of like, you know, \u2018I\u2019m not that curious or not that engaged with other people,\u2018 then you probably need to go play somewhere else.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a long-suffering Rockies fan, that\u2019s the kind of attitude I am thrilled to support from the front office and players.<\/p>\n

Charlie Condon Burst At First Could Help Colorado Rockies Avoid Worst | Forbes ($)<\/a><\/p>\n

Searching for their next first baseman has become a perennial quest for the Colorado Rockies. Last year, eight different players tried it out. This year, the competition is wide open to see who the Opening Day starter will be. Forbes\u2019s Chuck Murr takes a look at where Charlie Condon, the Rockies\u2019 No. 3 overall pick from the 2024 MLB Draft, has been and forecasts where he and the Rockies might be capable of going.<\/p>\n

Rockies ready to crank up aggression on basepaths with additions of Castro, McCarthy | MLB.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Willi Castro and Jake McCarthy are good baserunners. They know it. Warren Schaeffer and Paul DePodesta know it too, which is why the Rockies signed and traded for the speeders this offseason. Both players figure to be a big part of Schaeffer\u2019s plan to create chaos \u2014 the good kind \u2014 on the basepaths this season.<\/p>\n

Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines<\/a> when you\u2019re commenting. Thanks!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Rockies have always prided themselves on being a draft-and-develop team. Without the dollars to match the Dodgers…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":493719,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[363,36536,99],"class_list":["post-493718","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-mlb","tag-rockpile","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/493718","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=493718"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/493718\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/493719"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=493718"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=493718"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=493718"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}