Denver Post sports writer Patrick Saunders with the latest installment of his Rockies Mailbag.
Pose a Rockies- or MLB-related question for the Rockies Mailbag.
Given their recent seasons, are the Rockies profitable?
— Ed Helinski, Auburn, N.Y.
Ed, I don’t have access to the team’s books, so I don’t know if they are “profitable” from year to year. I do know that owner Dick Monfort invests in the team, up to a certain point.
However, as I noted in my recent journal, the club lost some incoming revenue last season due to the changing landscape of sports television.
Every year, Forbes writes a story about the value of every major league team. According to that publication, the Rockies’ operating income from 2023 was minus-$17 million.
But, over the long haul, the Rockies have been a great investment. According to Forbes, the average MLB team is now worth $2.4 billion, 4% more than a year ago. The Rockies rank 20th, with an evaluation of $1.48 billion. The Yankees rank No. 1 at $7.55 billion.
The story goes on to say: “Since Forbes first began doing valuations of MLB teams in 1998, when the average team was valued at $194 million, owning a team would have beaten inflation by more than five-fold and beaten the S&P 500 (excluding the reinvestment of dividends) by nearly double.
“Revenue in MLB rose 10% in 2023, to an average of $378 million per team — the steepest increase since 2015. That increase was due to record ticket, merchandise, television and licensing revenue. But operating income (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) only went up 6%, to an average of $19 million due to more spending on players, technology and analytics.”
Is there any way the Rockies can ditch Kris Bryant’s albatross of a contract? Or will it destroy the franchise’s ability to become competitive for years to come?
— Etienne, Dumont
Etienne, unless Bryant decides to retire — he told me near the end of the season that he is not planning to — the Rockies are stuck with his contract, which still counts for $104 million over four years on the club’s books.
So, it’s a problem, to be sure. But it’s going too far to say it “will destroy” the Rockies’ ability to compete. Think of the situation as a team losing a high-cost, star player to injury. But in the Rockies’ case, it’s like losing a high-cost player every year for four more years. It’s a bad scenario for sure, but not insurmountable.
The Rockies still hope that Bryant can rebound to become a productive designated hitter. If he can’t, the Rockies would make a gigantic mistake if they still played Bryant instead of younger players simply because Bryant’s making a lot of money.
At this point, he needs to earn the job — or ride the bench.
Greetings, Patrick. Another Season of our Discontent (apologies to Shakespeare). Your recent column spells out the foreseeable future. Observing the current playoffs, quality at-bats and a deep pitching staff are a must. Why haven’t the Rockies coaches coaxed better results, or is it a talent level they must work with? Thanks for answering all the mailbox questions. I would love to see the questions that are not available for public consumption. Cheers!
— Robert Emmerling, Limon
Robert, one of these days I will share some of the emails I get about the Rockies — and my coverage — that would have to have multiple four-letter words redacted for “public consumption.”
Anyway, I received a lot of emails concerning the Rockies’ decision to hold on to some of their coaches, particularly hitting coach Hensley “Bam Bam” Meulens.
I’ve asked around, and it’s clear that general manager Bill Schmidt and manager Bud Black believe Meulens is a good coach and a solid teacher. This is despite the Rockies’ terrible team batting average (.242) and high strikeouts (1,617), both of which were the worst in franchise history.
So, if Meulens is, indeed a good coach, as the Rockies insist, that leaves me with a number of conclusions:
• The Rockies had a bushel full of young players getting at-bats this past season, which is certainly a primary reason for the poor offensive output. (Then again, the Rockies have had a sub-par offense for five seasons now.)
• The Rockies have failed to draft and develop enough good hitters. Not potential sluggers, mind you, but accomplished hitters who don’t strike out a lot, put the ball in play, get on base and move runners over.
• The current generation of players thrived at the lower levels of baseball by swinging for the fences, but when they face big-league pitchers, they don’t have the approach or the experience to get the job done. Plenty of players — many of whom have their own hitting coaches during the offseason — can be very stubborn when it comes to making changes to their swing and approach at the plate.
It appears the Monforts are in it for the long haul regarding the Rockies and LoDo. Will up-and-comer Sterling Monfort take on a greater role in the front office sooner rather than later?
— Brian McConnell, Centennial
Brian, that is my assumption, although I have not heard anything about a promotion.
Sterling, 33, just finished his third year as the club’s director of professional scouting, and he’s been in the Rockies’ front office for 14 years. According to the team’s media guide, Monfort “oversees the day-to-day operations of the pro scouting department, evaluates the Rockies’ major and minor league clubs and opposing players for acquisitions, and collects information from the entire pro scouting staff to assist general manager Bill Schmidt and director of player development Chris Forbes in the player acquisition process for both the major and minor leagues.”
That’s a mouthful, but the bottom line is that owner Dick Monfort’s second son holds an important role. I would imagine he will continue to move up the ladder.
Dick’s oldest son, Walker, works more on the business side as the Rockies’ vice president of corporate partnerships. Could the day come when Walker becomes the team president and replaces his dad as CEO? Yes. Could the day come when Sterling becomes the GM? Yes.
But I don’t see that happening soon.
Do you feel like our beloved Rockies team will always prioritize fan experience during the games at the expense of winning games?
— Tyler, Colorado Springs
Tyler, I think the Rockies can and should do both.
The Rockies deserve a lot of credit for the “fan experience.” Coors Field is a terrific, family-friendly ballpark. I wish the fans were more into the game itself, but it’s their entertainment dollar, so if they want to party on the “Party Deck” or get their kids Dippin Dots and hot dogs and do the wave in the ninth inning of a 3-2 game, more power to them.
However, as we’ve seen in the past, fans flock to Coors and crank up the volume when the team is good.
Still, one of my biggest criticisms of the franchise is that it has not consistently rewarded its fans with a quality product on the field. Coors Field is a publicly funded ballpark that has helped the Monfort family make money over the long haul, but the team remains sub-par. So, I understand fans’ frustration and criticism.
Patrick, who do you have to win the World Series?
— Mike, Denver
Mike, as much as it pains me to say this, I think the Dodgers win the series in six games.
Related Articles
Rockies’ Bud Black on returning for ninth season: “I want to be part of the solution”
Rockies Journal: What will Colorado’s offseason look like? A forecast that includes trades and, yes, a lower payroll
Rockies’ Jake Cave, Peter Lambert and Dakota Hudson become free agents
Three Rockies named 2024 Gold Glove finalists
Ranking Colorado Rockies’ Top 10 prospects as 2024 season comes to a close
Hey Patrick, do you think Nolan Jones will bounce back next season? The optimist in me wants to say this team has a bunch of potential (notwithstanding that awful bullpen) and Jones is a key component for a possible turnaround. Brenton Doyle, Zac Veen and Jones would be a fun combination in the outfield. What say you?
— Mark, Arvada
Mark, I honestly don’t know if Jones can rebound from a tough, injury-filled season in which he slumped to a slash line of .227/.321/.320 with 13 doubles, one triple, and three homers in 297 plate appearances. His strikeout rate was 30.6% while his home run rate was 1.0%.
In 2023, Jones slashed .297/.389/.542 with 22 doubles, four triples and 20 homers in 424 plate appearances. His K rate was 29.7%, and his home run rate was a robust 4.7%.
Jones has a lot of talent, but he does have holes in his swing that pitchers exploited in 2024. There were signs that Jones was turning things around in the second half of the season, even though he didn’t hit any homers.
I had a person tell me that Jones “has to get out of his own way.” Meaning that Jones is putting too much pressure on himself, and that’s not enabling his talent to shine through.
I think it’s more likely that the Rockies’ future outfield will feature Doyle, Veen and Jordan Beck. Despite Beck’s struggles last season, the Rockies are very intrigued by his potential.
Want more Rockies news? Sign up for the Rockies Insider to get all our MLB analysis.