3 of the biggest mistakes that doomed the Rockies in 2023

It has been almost a month since the 2023 MLB season concluded. During that time, it was the worst season in franchise history for the Colorado Rockies.

For the first time in franchise history, the Rockies lost over 100 games in a single season while finishing dead last in the entire National League.

Whether it was the lack of available starting pitching in the Rockies starting rotation, some questionable moves throughout the year by manager Bud Black, injuries that depleted the team, or even the inability to hit on the road, the Rockies were just a mess.

There are few areas to blame as to why the Rockies played so poorly in 2023 and in hindsight, what seemed like what were pretty decent moves, turned out to be the opposite and inevitably doomed Colorado this past year.

While some might argue the Rockies did not invest in talent by expanding the payroll this past year, the fact of the matter is a high payroll does not always guarantee success. Just look at the Los Angeles Angels, New York Mets or even the San Diego Padres and look at the teams who made the playoffs this year like the Baltimore Orioles, Tampa Bay Rays and the Arizona Diamondbacks who all sit below the Rockies who are number 16 in payroll.

The bottom line is, money does not buy championships.

Going forward, I decided to look at three reasons why the Rockies were doomed throughout the 2023 MLB season.

2. Kris Bryant signing keeps getting worse and worse

The gift that keeps on giving.

Before the 2022 season, the Rockies handed Kris Bryant a seven year $182 million contract that has him eating up at least $26 million of the payroll for the next five years.

While I don't think it is time to give up on Bryant just yet, frustration is at the top of my list when I think about his time so far with the Rockies.

So far in two seasons, Bryant has yet to play in 162 games as he has appeared in just 122 games, 80 of which came this year.

Although Bryant played in more games this year for Colorado, 2021 was statistically the worst year of his career. He slashed .233/.313/.367, striking out 68 times, and hitting only 10 home runs and 31 RBI. These numbers are similar to his stats in the shortened 60-game season in 2020.

For at least the next five years, Bryant will remain a key part of the Rockies' core future as he will likely transition from the outfield to first base next year. That being said, while the Rockies would love to see Bryant return to his 2016 form when he was awarded the NL MVP with the Chicago Cubs, the Rockies will need him to just be a solid player who can hit above .218 and hit for at least 30 home runs as he did in 2019.

While I think this could be obtainable for Bryant, the reality is, he needs to be healthy. If he puts together a season where he plays in at least 145 games next year, he could quickly change the narrative of his time in Colorado and could give fans and the organization a reason to believe in the future.

3. Claiming washed free agents and not letting the kids play sooner

Coming into this year, fans knew that the Rockies were not going to be a great team but the optimism that surrounded them early on was around the youth invasion that was the Colorado Rockies.

At the second half of the season, the Rockies bolstered a lineup that featured at least five starting rookies everyday and were allowing the young stars to see big league pitching everyday which gave them the opportunity to get better and better.

Unfortunately, due to some moves made earlier this year, the Rockies were not always playing their younger stars right away and were allowing aging veteran players to take away some of these quality reps that I was just talking about.

On the Rockies opening day roster, it featured names like Jurickson Profar, Yonathan Daza, a Mike Moustakas who originally signed on a minor league deal and C.J. Cron who probably should have been traded before the season began while his stock reamined high.

Daza was the first one of the group to go as he was DFA'd last may. Followed by that Moustakas would get traded to the Angels. Cron would quickly follow him as well as the Angels acquired him and Randal Grichuk before the deadline and Profar would eventually become released at the end of Aug.

Unfortunately, these moves happened all to late.

For the best interest of the club, I do think it would've been much more valuable to the club to give Nolan Jones a spot on the opening day roster as it would have strengthen his case for NL Rookie of the Year as well as bringing up recent gold glove candidate Brenton Doyle. to the roster to help strengthen his case and help give him at least almost two more months of experience against MLB pitching as he consistently struggled at the plate.

I'm not saying bringing up Doyle and Jones would've solved all the Rockies problems last year, but it would have helped with their development in 2023.