The Rockies’ formal introduction of Paul DePodesta, the new president of baseball operations, began with refreshing honesty about the club’s failures and the need for change.
“We all know that it’s been a tough stretch here for the Rockies; there are no excuses for that,” executive vice president Walker Monfort said Thursday morning at Coors Field. “But today marks something new. Today is the first day of our future, and we will not accept anything other than progress.”
Monfort didn’t spell out the tough stretch, but then, after three consecutive 100-loss seasons culminating with a 43-119 record in 2025, he didn’t have to.
“To our fans, we know you’re frustrated,” Monfort continued. “You have every right to be. We are, too. I can’t express how grateful we are for your continued passion and support. I know you are tired of hearing words — you want to see action. Bringing Paul on board is our first move, and there will be many more to come.”
The Rockies’ rebuild has begun, not only with the hiring of someone from outside the organization in DePodesta, but also with the establishment of a new organizational infrastructure and hierarchy. Owner and CEO Dick Monfort, Walker’s father, will still have the final say on big decisions, but he made it clear on Friday that things are changing at 20th and Blake and that he’s scaling down his role in baseball operations.
He said he will not be as involved on the baseball side, in part because he serves on the labor board for Major League Baseball’s owners. The current collective bargaining agreement is set to expire after the 2026 season, and speculation is already underway about potential labor strife, with the owners, led by Monfort, contemplating implementing a salary cap for the sport. The MLB Players Association is adamantly against a cap.
“I have a lot more responsibility with the league over the next year, so I have to allocate time there,” Dick, 71, said. “Plus, I’m getting older. Walker came to me and said he was interested in taking on (a bigger role). He can handle it.”
Dick said that there were “close to 30” applicants for the president of baseball operations, but said he’s confident DePodesta is the right man at the right time.
“Paul’s a brilliant guy, but he also relates to people,” Dick said.
Walker, 38, spelled out the club’s hierarchy this way: “Obviously, everybody reports upward, to our chairman and CEO, my father, Dick. Basically, from there, I will still be in charge of oversight of the entire organization.
“So Paul will report to me, and those that he hires will report to him. As I mentioned to Paul when we were going through this process, I am very much behind him in terms of the sport. My goal is to learn from Paul and others.”
In other words, the 52-year-old DePodesta, who’s back in baseball after spending the last 10 years with the NFL’s Cleveland Browns, will be given substantial freedom to build his kind of staff and his kind of team.
“Let’s be candid, for them to connect with me, this wasn’t going to be the most traditional hire,” DePodesta said. “It showed me right away that there was a real open-mindedness here and a willingness to do things differently and to try some things.
“From the beginning, from our very first conversations, I got that sense that they were … ready for a change. They were ready to bring in someone to effect that change. I felt that right away and throughout the whole process.”
Now, DePodesta must begin his part of the rebuild. After evaluating the state of the organization, he plans to bring in some outside personnel and possibly expand the staff.
“I feel really good bringing in the people to build out the baseball operation,” he said. “But the first thing I want to do is get to know everybody here and understand the capabilities that are already in place.”
“Then I will look at how we supplement that with additional people and additional skills. I have been given assurances that there is not just an appetite, but a thirst to build this out and make it a really strong part of the organization.”
DePodesta’s first major task will likely be to hire a manager, someone who’s “able to relate to the players.” Then he’ll hire a general manager to be his right-hand man, though he’s not going to rush that decision. He set no timetable for either hire.
“I’m not sure exactly how that’s going to evolve,” he said. “The reason I say that is because I’m a huge believer in building teams as opposed to just picking individuals. I want to find someone who can fill in some of my gaps, but also fill in some of the gaps in the rest of the organization as well.”
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