Punk Rockies

This coming week features one of the most anticipated offseason weeks the Rockies have had in years, as a new regime clears out AAAA-types that have been getting too many at-bats/innings pitched in recent years and we all get to see what their replacement plans are. Gone are Michael Toglia, Drew Romo, Warming Bernabel, Anthony Molina, and Ryan Rolison.

Let’s speculate some ideas that may appeal to Paul DePodesta and Josh Byrnes as they head to Orlando to fill out the roster with trades, signings and/or Rule IV draft picks:

Nate Lowe, 1st Base, FA
Lowe could be in the Rockies’ price range, and fits the Moneyball profile of a high-OBP guy (.347 career OBP). He doesn’t hit a ton of home runs (avg. 21 homers/season), but he also doesn’t strike out a ton and isn’t allergic to walks. Lowe won a title (and a gold glove) in 2023 with the Rangers, so he’d also be a good veteran presence on a very young team that doesn’t quite know what winning is like.

Ryan Weathers, Starting Pitcher, Marlins
The Marlins are known to be shopping arms this week, and Weathers has perhaps the highest upside of the bunch factoring in the three years of control left before free agency. Weathers has been an injury risk, but has shown good results when healthy, with a k% north of 22% and BB% under 7% the last couple of seasons. Maybe something like Yanquiel Fernandez and another prospect gets it done?

Ryan O’Hearn, 1st Base, FA
Another high-OBP first baseman, but may be more of a reach due to his likely asking price (MLB Trade Rumors predicts 2 yrs/$26 mil). The 32-year old sported a robust .366 OBP last season with the Orioles and Padres, but not a ton of pop (.437 slug). O’Hearn was the Orioles’ sole representative at the 2025 All-Star Game.

RJ Petit, Relief Pitcher, Tigers (Rule 5)
The Rockies could easily keep a reliever on the roster all year as is required for Rule 5 picks, but Petit may be better than most of their bullpen options anyway. One of the top unprotected arms available for draft, Petit pitched in AA and AAA in 2025 to the tune of a combined 2.44 ERA with 79 strikeouts in 66.1 innings. His fastball can hit 98 and he features a killer slider and good changeup.

Yordanny Monegro, Starting Pitcher, Red Sox (Rule 5)
Another possible high-upside pitcher available as a Rule 5 pick on Wednesday, Montegro might be even more appealing since he could be slotted on the 60-day IL all year as he had TJ surgery late this past season and will miss the 2026 season. Monegro features a plus slider and curve and sports the great strikeout-to-walk ratio (6.13) Colorado could really use. He’s still young (23), so he’s still attractive despite the injury. Monegro is #26 on the Red Sox top prospect list and has been as high as 17 (2024).

Jon Gray, Pitcher, FA
A familiar face coming back to Coors Field? It’s possible! Gray had a lost season in 2025 after missing most of the season with a broken wrist from a liner off the bat of the previously mentioned Michael Toglia in a spring contest. Before that, he was solid in his previous three years in Texas after the infamous botching of a re-signing effort in 2021. He’s 34 years old, but knows pitching in Denver and would be a reasonably priced back-end starter or even long reliever to help mentor the young ones.