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With seemingly every loss this season, the Colorado Rockies make headlines for a new level of futility: They have already set the modern mark for fewest wins (eight) in the first 50 games of a season and lost a record 22 consecutive series before sweeping the Miami Marlins this week.

But unlike most teams marching toward baseball infamy, Colorado’s roster isn’t made up of rookies and journeymen. Instead, it consists of some of the key players from the franchise’s last glory days.

They remember the good times. When Coors Field was packed, players were flying around the bases and the Rockies had just enough pitching to catapult them into the postseason.

It might seem like forever ago as Colorado barrels toward its third straight 100-loss season, but current pitchers German Marquez, Antonio Senzatela, Kyle Freeland and infielder Ryan McMahon were all part of the organization’s last playoff teams, in 2017 and 2018. Colorado won a combined 178 games over those two seasons.

Few could have imagined what would come seven years later: The Rockies are on pace to shatter the modern record for losses, set last year by the Chicago White Sox. They’re on pace to lose 130 games, which would be nine more than Chicago.

“You ask me back in 2017 or 2018, I would have said there is no chance that is happening,” Freeland told ESPN recently. “You realize how special those seasons are.”

Despite their record, the vibe in their clubhouse doesn’t feel all that different than any other team’s midway through the grind of a 162-game season. According to Rockies players, there is too much baseball left to give in to the negativity that surrounds all the losing. They also point to their increased competitiveness since making a managerial change early last month.

“The start of the year was tough, if we’re being honest about it,” injured reliever Austin Gomber said. “We weren’t very competitive. Since [interim manager Warren Schaeffer] has taken over we’re pretty much in every game. But it’s not going our way. It’s easier to keep the attitude positive. I know we’re competing every night. At the beginning of the year, that wasn’t the case.”

Freeland added: “You can’t be mailing it in right now or closing up shop. We have a lot of learning to do as a team, with a lot of young guys doing that learning. Us veterans have to keep the attitude of the team in the right spot.”

The Rockies’ struggles come down to this: They have given up the most runs per game while scoring the least. That latter is stunning, considering the hitting advantage they’ve enjoyed over the years playing at the big leagues’ highest elevation in Denver. Going into this season, the lowest the team ranked in scoring since Coors Field opened 30 years ago was 22nd, achieved last season.

The lack of production on either side of the ball has led to blowouts (they’ve lost 16 games by at least five runs) and heartbreaking losses (they’re just 6-11 in one-run games). “Some stick with you,” McMahon said. “We have guys that care and when you care, you carry it longer. But if you keep holding on to the night before, it’s not going to help today and it’s going to be a long season. You have to flush it.”

“You have to flush it” might become the team’s slogan as the organization is attempting to turn the page on its horrendous start, pointing to some improvements since the 40 year-old Schaeffer took over for 67-year-old Bud Black. After Black’s eight years and about six weeks at the helm in Colorado, the Rockies decided a change was needed.

“Buddy Black is a real good baseball guy,” general manager Bill Schmidt said. “It was probably time for a different voice.”

Schmidt was asked what gives him hope during such a wretched time for the franchise.

“We’ve been way more competitive lately,” he said. “We’re going to turn it around. I’m embarrassed by what’s transpired.”

After their numbers were boosted by the sweep of the Marlins, the team can point to a per-game run differential of minus 2.41 since Schaeffer took over, compared to minus 3.2 under Black — though their winning percentages are similar (.175 under Black to .227 since the change).

Black turned down an interview request for this story.

Like the White Sox last year, the Rockies aren’t focusing on the record for losses as they believe it’ll be a self-fulfilling prophecy if they do.

“If not being the worst team in baseball is our main focus, then we’re going to be the worst team in baseball,” Freeland said. “Our focus is ‘Let’s get better every day.’ That’s the lens. We have a new manager, new coaches, a lot of moving parts. But let’s focus on ourselves.”

Schaeffer, a career minor leaguer as a player, is learning on the job but has brought new energy to the dugout. He says he wants what every other manager desires from his players: accountability and the ability to master the fundamentals. Does he see improvement?

“I do,” he stated. “For sure. I feel like the competitive nature is there. Little by little we’re learning how to be in games and win. Not there yet. We have to execute late in games. That’s the next step.”

The past several weeks illustrate how both close and far the Rockies are from being respectable. Inability to execute — especially late in games — led to eight losses by two runs or fewer in a span of 12 games. It’s the kind of thing that will keep them on their record pace. That is, along with the blowouts, which still happen about once a week.

“We have like 100 games left,” Gomber said. “We can throw that record off by just a good two-week stretch. I’m confident that we’ll turn it around from that standpoint because just watching, I’ve seen us much more competitive every night. It’s going to turn.”

There’s some concern about the team’s young players learning in such a losing environment. They point to those veterans — particularly the players who were in Colorado during better times — as the reason the team is sticking together.

“We treat every day as a new day,” 26-year-old utilityman Tyler Freeman said. “It’s tough to look at the record right now. But everyone is working hard. We come in looking to win. The results haven’t shown, but we have to stay patient.

“If we take a look at the beginning of the year to now, it’s way different. I think we’ve turned a corner.”

Residing in the toughest division in baseball will only make it harder to avoid losing 120 games this season. Colorado is just 3-13 against the National League West with 36 games remaining against those opponents.

Amazingly, the Rockies are still drawing more than 26,000 fans per game — a testament to their loyalty and the fan experience at Coors Field. But what will the stands look like come September as the team winds down a potentially record-breaking season? One thing the clubhouse is unified on is how much the team has let those fans down. The Rockies have traveled a long way — in the wrong direction — since those back-to-back postseason appearances last decade.

“A lot of things have happened since then,” Senzatela said as he shook his head. “We have to stick together. Hopefully we’ll get back there.”

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Sources: Yankees get 3B in Rockies’ McMahon

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Sources: Yankees get 3B in Rockies' McMahon

NEW YORK — The Yankees are acquiring third baseman Ryan McMahon from the Rockies in exchange for minor league pitchers Griffin Herring and Josh Grosz, sources confirmed to ESPN on Friday.

The Yankees will assume the remainder of 30-year-old McMahon’s contract, which includes approximately $4.5 million for the remainder of 2025 and $32 million over the next two seasons.

An All-Star last season, McMahon was batting .217 with 16 home runs and a .717 OPS in 100 games for Colorado in 2025. He hit home runs in the first two games after the All-Star break and another on Tuesday and is on pace to keep his four-year 20-homer streak alive.

While the production has resulted in a 92 OPS+, which suggests McMahon has been 8% worse than the average major league hitter this season, he still represents a significant offensive upgrade at third base for New York.

The Yankees have had Oswald Peraza, one of the worst hitters in the majors, manning third base nearly every day since the club decided to release DJ LeMahieu, another former Rockies player, earlier this month and move Jazz Chisholm Jr. to second base. Peraza, while a strong defender, is slashing .147/.208/.237 in 69 games this season. His 24 wRC+ ranks last among the 310 hitters with at least 160 plate appearances this season.

Defensively, McMahon is a Gold Glove-caliber third baseman whose four Outs Above Average is third in the majors this season. He joins a Yankees club that has been marred by sloppy defense, most recently on Wednesday when it committed four errors in a defensive meltdown against the first-place Toronto Blue Jays.

Herring, 22, has recorded a 1.71 ERA in 89⅓ innings across 16 starts between Low- and High-A this season. He was a sixth-round pick out of LSU in the 2024 draft.

Grosz, an 11th-round pick in 2023, had a 4.14 ERA in 87 innings over 16 games (15 starts) for High-A Hudson Valley this season.

With third base addressed, the Yankees will continue to seek to acquire pitchers to bolster both their rotation and bullpen.

MLB.com first reported on the Yankees trading for McMahon.

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Mets trade for reliever in Orioles left-hander Soto

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Mets trade for reliever in Orioles left-hander Soto

The Mets acquired left-handed reliever Gregory Soto from the Orioles on Friday in exchange for two minor leaguers in what could be the first of multiple moves by New York to bolster its bullpen before the trade deadline Thursday.

The trade, which sent Class A right-hander Wellington Aracena and Double-A right-hander Cameron Foster to Baltimore, gives the Mets a hard-throwing left-hander to complement the club’s only lefty on the roster, Brooks Raley, who returned from Tommy John surgery last week.

Soto, who is 30 and was an All-Star with the Detroit Tigers in 2021 and 2022, has posted a 3.96 ERA with a 27.5% strikeout rate in 45 appearances this season. The Mets will be his fourth team since the 2022 season.

On Monday, Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns plainly signaled that upgrading the bullpen for the stretch run is his top priority.

The need is clear. Injuries and overuse have depleted a relief corps that led the majors in bullpen ERA through May 31. Since June 1, the group has posted 4.52 ERA, good for 23rd in the majors.

Aracena, 20, is 1-1 with a 2.38 ERA in 17 games for St. Lucie. The Orioles said he is one of two pitchers in the minors this season to have thrown at least 60 innings without surrendering a home run.

Foster, 26, is 5-2 with two saves and a 2.97 ERA while pitching at the Double-A and Triple-A levels.

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Fenway concession workers strike for Sox series

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Fenway concession workers strike for Sox series

BOSTON — Hundreds of Aramark workers at Fenway Park are on strike and planning to stay out for all of a homestand between the Boston Red Sox and the Los Angeles Dodgers starting Friday night.

Concession workers had set a deadline of noon Friday for Aramark and Fenway Park to reach an agreement with the Local 26 chapter of the Massachusetts and Rhode Island hotel, casino, airport and food services workers union.

The union went on strike at noon asking for “living wages, guardrails on technology and R-E-S-P-E-C-T!”

With the Red Sox and Dodgers scheduled to start at 7:10 p.m. EDT, union officials had a request for fans attending this homestand with food and beer workers on strike.

“We’re asking you to NOT buy concessions inside the ballpark,” Local 26 wrote on social media. “Tailgate before the games!”

Union workers walked the picket line wearing green T-shirts declaring “FENWAY WORKERS ON STRIKE.” They carried signs in the shape of a baseball proclaiming Local 26.

The Red Sox go out of town Monday with a game that night at Minnesota.

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