Rockies GM Bill Schmidt ‘looking for continued growth’ over final two months

Colorado Rockies management has taken the training wheels off the Kid Rox. Will they improve or crash and burn?

Veteran third baseman Ryan McMahon, 30, was traded to the Yankees. So was 29-year-old workhorse reliever Jake Bird. Right-handed reliever Tyler Kinley, the 34-year-old sage of the bullpen, was shipped to Atlanta.

So, with slightly more than a quarter of their historically bad season remaining, what does general manager Bill Schmidt want to see from the kids?

“As I’ve said from Day 1, I want to see continued growth from these guys,” Schmidt said Friday before the Rockies hosted the Pirates at Coors Field. “We want to see them continue to get better; continued daily improvement and grind out these last two months of the season.”

The Rockies are 6-6 since the All-Star break but still need to win 14 of their final 54 games to avoid matching the 2024 White Sox’s modern record of 121 losses. Schmidt, who has faced a lot of speculation about his future with the team, said interim manager Warren Schaeffer has been doing a good job.

“Since the first of June, the last two months, we have been way more competitive,” Schmidt said. “We’ve lost some games late; we’ve won a couple late. I think ‘Schaeff’ and the crew have done a good job. We’ve seen improvement from the players on the field.”

Since June 1, Colorado was 19-31 entering Friday night, a .380 winning percentage that is an improvement over its .259 winning percentage for the entire season.

A key for the Rockies during August and September, and preparing for next season, is seeing improvement from a talented but often erratic bullpen. Collectively, Colorado relievers had a 7.46 ERA in their first 12 games since the break. Right-handers Seth Halvorsen (1-2, 4.99 ERA, 11 saves in 14 chances) and Victor Vodnik (3-3, 3.66 ERA, two saves in six chances) hold the keys to a better bullpen.

“I think they are progressing well,” Schaeffer said. “Every time out for them is a chance to gain more experience at this level and learn how to handle big situations as they go. I feel like both of them have done a really nice job.”

Several teams inquired about Halvorsen and Vodnik as Thursday’s trade deadline neared, but Schmidt said those teams couldn’t meet the Rockies’ “big ask.”

Palmquist to ‘pen. Left-hander Carson Palmquist’s days as a big-league starter are over, at least for now. The Rockies have decided to turn him into a reliever. As of Friday, he was Colorado’s only southpaw in the bullpen.

The 24-year-old was selected in the third round of the 2022 draft out of the University of Miami. He was recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque before Friday’s game, his third stint on the active roster this season.

“After some discussion, we decided that his stuff probably played best in that role, as opposed to trying to get through a lineup three times,” Schmidt said. “His velocity has been down a little bit. We hope it will tick up when (he pitches) one time through the order instead of two or three times.”