What Does the Post-Bud Black Era Look Like for the Colorado Rockies?

DENVER, Colo –– The Colorado Rockies announced manager Bud Black was relieved of his duties following the team’s 9-3 victory on Mother’s Day to snap an eight-game losing streak and rebound from the most embarrassing loss in franchise history.

As famed head coach Vince Lombardi once said, “Timing isn’t everything; it’s the only thing.”

The smiles and general jocularity of the clubhouse were the first for Colorado since their last victory 10 days ago. Considering the team still had fewer wins (7) during the entire 2025 season than the active eight and nine-game winning streaks for the Minnesota Twins and St. Louis Cardinals, erasing the minor gust in their sails only underlined how sideways things are going with the organization.

“Our play so far this season, especially coming off the last two seasons, has been unacceptable. Our fans deserve better, and we are capable of better,” said Rockies Owner, Chairman and CEO Dick Monfort through a press release. “While we all share responsibility in how this season has played out, these changes are necessary. We will use the remainder of 2025 to improve where we can on the field and to evaluate all areas of our operation so we can properly turn the page into the next chapter of Rockies Baseball.”

On pace to set a dubious Major League record with 133 losses and following consecutive 100-loss seasons, it seemed obvious following a 21-0 defeat on Saturday night to remove the face of the on-field product and his right-hand man in bench coach Mike Redmond. It was a similar strategy employed by the Pittsburgh Pirates, who bid farewell to Derek Shelton in his sixth season as skipper.

Pittsburgh, mired in six-straight losing seasons and void of a playoff appearance since the start of 2016, needs to do a lot more than fire the head of the coaching staff. Colorado, also on the precipice of seven consecutive losing campaigns and without a run to October since 2018, should also explore more changes.

Black, the all-time leader in franchise history for games (1,234) and wins (544), is the only manager to lead Colorado to consecutive postseason appearances (2017-18). He inherited an improved 75-win club in 2016 and elevated a trio of rookie starting pitchers — Germán Márquez, Kyle Freeland and Antonio Senzatela — to bring the club back to the postseason for the first time in eight years. 

“A lot of different emotions right now. I’ve been with Buddy and Red my entire career up to this point,” Freeland said on Sunday following the change at manager. “I love both those guys to death, and I’ll be in contact with them for the rest of my life. But clearly some changes needed to be made to see if we can start turning this thing around, get going in a new direction, get some traction and start helping the team.”

Third base coach and infield instructor Warren Schaeffer takes over as interim manager. Clint Hurdle, recently appointed as the hitting coach following the firing of Hensley Meulens last month, will serve as the bench coach. 

“I believe that Warren is the right person to lead us forward for the remainder of this season, develop our young talent at the Major League level and get our club back to playing a better brand of baseball,” said General Manager Bill Schmidt. “He has a great ability to connect with both veterans and young players and is an excellent communicator.”

Schaeffer, 40, was drafted by the club in 2007 out of Virginia Tech University. After six seasons in the minors, he immediately made the transition to coaching. In a four-year span, he went from being the manager at Low-A to Triple-A before joining Black’s staff in the Majors in 2023. 

More Coaching Changes

Frequently viewed as an organization that prefers to “rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic” rather than make significant changes for improvement, Colorado has once again stayed in-house with their promotions to the big league staff.

Jordan Pacheco, hitting coach for the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes, and Nic Wilson (Minor League hitting coordinator) have both been announced as interim co-hitting coaches on the big league staff. 

Andy González, who served as an assistant hitting coach, will take over Schaeffer’s duties as third base coach for the remainder of the season.

The second-youngest manager in MLB will have his hands full as he tries to avoid infamy. If he can manage to go 35-87 (.287) the rest of the way, he’ll avoid tying the 2024 Chicago White Sox for the worst record in the Modern Era.

Added support from the likes of Ezequiel Tovar, Tyler Freeman and Ryan Feltner potentially returning from the injured list will help the start of Schaeffer’s tenure, but the path to 100 losses has already been paved.

With a roster comprised of many rookies and players with limited service time still trying to establish themselves, it will be difficult for Schaeffer or any new blood on the coaching staff to remove the stench of the worst stretch of play in franchise history.

What Really Needs To Change?

Monfort, who has slashed payroll in recent seasons and meddled with baseball operations throughout his time as the Chairman and CEO of the club, once suggested firing himself following the trade of Nolan Arenado. While not exactly an option, creating the role of President of Baseball Operations might do well for putting some separation between the business-minded Monfort and the baseball specialists typically employed to run all other areas of an organization.

“I think we’re capable of playing better than we played. And so it was the time to make a change,” GM Bill Schmidt said of the decision to oust Black.

For a team that added only 2B Thairo Estrada and IF Kyle Farmer on one-year deals during the offseason and was expected to lose over 100 games by most projection systems, the best strategy for Colorado to explore going forward is changing the reflection they see in the mirror. 

Until then, it will be business as usual at 20th and Blake, regardless of who makes up the lineup card.