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The Colorado Rockies brought in Josh Byrnes from the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers to become their general manager and turn around a floundering franchise.
Byrnes will team again with Paul DePodesta, who was hired Nov. 7 as the Rockies’ president of baseball operations. The two joined forces in Cleveland in the 1990s, before DePodesta went to the Oakland Athletics and Byrnes joined the Rockies to work with then-GM Dan O’Dowd.
“I’m incredibly excited to be able to bring Josh into our group,” DePodesta said in a statement Wednesday. “Few executives in baseball share his combination of intellectual curiosity, breadth of experience, and on-field successes. We are extremely fortunate to add him, as he immediately strengthens our entire baseball operation.”
Byrnes joins a team coming off a third straight 100-loss season. He’s fresh off winning a World Series with the Dodgers for a second straight season. He also was with the Dodgers when they won in 2020.
The 55-year-old Byrnes takes over for Bill Schmidt, who stepped down after the season and following a long tenure with the team in a variety of roles.
“I’m thrilled to be returning to the Rockies organization, especially at such an exciting time for the future of the franchise,” Byrnes said. “Working alongside Paul again is an incredible opportunity and I’m eager to join him and the rest of the group as we work to bring championship caliber baseball to the Rockies.”
Byrnes knows the NL West well having also been in the front offices with the Arizona Diamondbacks and the San Diego Padres. He broke into the business as an advanced scout in Cleveland. Byrnes was with Boston as an assistant GM when the Red Sox won the World Series in 2004.
Colorado missed the playoffs for a seventh straight season. The Rockies finished 43-119 this year as they narrowly avoided becoming the team with the worst record since the 162-game schedule started in 1961.
Among the first moves by DePodesta was the promotion of Warren Schaeffer to full-time manager. Schaeffer assumed the role on an interim basis after the Rockies fired Bud Black – the winningest manager in franchise history – in May following a 7-33 start.
Colorado boasts a young nucleus that includes All-Star catcher Hunter Goodman and shortstop Ezequiel Tovar. The team also drafted Ethan Holliday with the No. 4 pick last summer. His father, Matt, is Rockies royalty after helping spark 2007’s “Rocktober” run that led to the franchise’s only World Series appearance, in which they were swept by Boston.
A chunk of Colorado’s payroll is tied up in the contract of often-injured slugger Kris Bryant, who’s played in only 170 big league games since signing a $182 million, seven-year deal before the 2022 season.
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Alden Gonzalez
World Series hero Miguel Rojas will return to the Los Angeles Dodgers for what will constitute his final season in the major leagues, sources confirmed to ESPN on Wednesday.
Rojas, 36, agreed to terms on a one-year, $5.5 million contract for 2026 and will help in player development while also assisting the Dodgers front office in 2027, according to a source familiar with the agreement.
Relegated to the bench for most of the playoffs, Rojas was reinserted into the lineup for Game 6 of the World Series against the Toronto Blue Jays and came up with a nifty scoop to complete a miraculous, game-ending 7-4 double play that saved the Dodgers’ season.
Roughly 24 hours later, Rojas hit the tying home run off Blue Jays closer Jeff Hoffman in the top of the ninth of Game 7, then made a tough play to get a force out at home in the bottom half, paving the way for Will Smith‘s game-winning home run in the 11th.
Rojas debuted with the Dodgers in 2014, returned to them in a trade with the Miami Marlins leading up to the 2023 season and went on to establish himself as a vocal leader on a star-laden team, while also becoming a pivotal resource for Mookie Betts in his transition to shortstop. A gifted fielder throughout his career, Rojas also enjoyed a bounce-back offensive season in 2025, slashing .262/.318/.397 while accumulating 2.1 Baseball Reference wins above replacement in 114 regular-season games.
As the season went on, Rojas spoke openly about his desire to play one more year before transitioning into a coaching role.
The Dodgers will provide him that opportunity.
El Extrabase first reported Rojas’ agreement with the Dodgers.
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