Padres’ division rival Rockies can’t get out of their own way with this latest move

The NL West is supposed to be an arms race. The Los Angeles Dodgers are spending like there’s a luxury-tax loophole only they know about. The San Diego Padres are tying themselves in knots trying to thread a payroll needle and still contend. Even the D-backs kept trying to punch above their weight until finally announcing they are pumping the brakes this offseason.

And then there are the Rockies, who just looked at a 43–119 season, shrugged, and said: “Yeah, let’s run that back.”

Rockies’ latest dugout decision is a gift Padres shouldn’t ignore

Colorado officially removed the interim tag and named Warren Schaeffer their full-time manager for 2026, locking in the same dugout voice that went 36–86 after taking over for Bud Black in May.

On paper, you’d think that kind of faceplant would be the perfect moment to bring in a completely new voice from outside the organization. Especially after ownership finally admitted something was broken by shuffling the front office, hiring Paul DePodesta as president of baseball operations, and promising a fresh direction. 

Instead, the Rockies did the most Rockies thing possible: they changed the people upstairs and kept the same comfort blanket in the dugout.

Schaeffer has almost two decades of marinating in the exact organizational culture that produced three straight 100-loss seasons and a 43–119 rock bottom. 

To be fair, the Rockies can make a pretty logical case for the move if you squint. Schaeffer inherited a disaster midseason and a roster that simply wasn’t competitive. Reports out of Denver paint him as a strong communicator who kept the clubhouse from completely unraveling, leaned into player development, and worked well with a young roster that used 13 rookies. DePodesta has talked up Schaeffer’s leadership, buy-in from players, and his understanding of what’s gone wrong — and what needs to change — inside the walls. 

If you’re the Rockies, and you’re treating 2026 as another step in a long rebuild instead of a win-now sprint, a “development-first” manager who already knows your prospects and how the place works has some appeal.

But from the outside — and especially from a rival NL West lens — this absolutely looks like another case of Colorado refusing to break out of its bubble. This is a franchise with a long track record of preferring in-house comfort over uncomfortable, transformative change. 

For the Padres, it’s hard not to see this as a bit of a gift. While San Diego is sweating every roster decision, agonizing over how to hang with the Dodgers while balancing a crowded long-term payroll, the Rockies are effectively saying, “We’ll see what happens if we keep doing what we’ve been doing — but with better vibes.” 

The catch, of course, is that you can’t count on the Rockies being a doormat forever. Colorado does have interesting talent either on the roster or knocking on the door — Ezequiel Tovar, Brenton Doyle, Jordan Beck, Zac Veen, Chase Dollander, and Ethan Holliday give them at least a foundation to dream on.  And weird things happen at altitude.

So yes, Warren Schaeffer probably deserves a fair shot at a full season that isn’t dropped in his lap at 7–33. And yes, the Rockies badly needed someone who could actually connect with players and stabilize a miserable situation.

For a division rival that just lost 119 games, that’s not exactly a terrifying answer.