New Colorado Rockies front office acquires six players on first trade deadline day

DENVER – The first trade deadline for the Colorado Rockies new front office saw a lot of their best talent staying put and six new players joining the organization.

President of Baseball Operations Paul DePodesta spoke to the media for over 15 minutes about the three trades his club made on deadline day involving CF Brenton Doyle, RHP Antonio Senzatela and RHP Victor Vodnik.

“I think if you had asked me three or four days ago, and I was able to be honest with you, I would have told you I thought those were probably the three players that were most likely to be moved, just based on the sheer amount of interest we were getting from teams,” said DePodesta.

The day began with two-time Rawlings Gold Glove Award winner Brenton Doyle going to the Chicago White Sox for a pair of prospects in RHP Mason Adams and SS Carlos Vielma.

“BD was a huge part of this team, a huge part of this organization. The things he’s done in Colorado shouldn’t go unnoticed,” said Mickey Moniak. “Then just the guy he was, how much he loved the city – what he meant to the guys in the clubhouse definitely won’t go unnoticed. But we’re happy for him.”

Doyle was the first Division III player taken in the 2019 MLB Draft when he was selected in the fourth round out of Shepherd University (WV). During his time with Colorado, he won an MiLB Gold Glove while at High-A in 2021, the Heart and Hustle Award winner for the Rockies in 2024 and was the first outfielder in NL history to win a Gold Glove in each of his first two Major League seasons.

RHP Antonio Senzatela and the remainder of his $12 million contract was dealt to the Milwaukee Brewers for LHP Mark Manfredi and IF Juan Martinez.

Originally signed out of Venezuela as an international free agent in 2011, Senzatela reflected on his time with the Rockies by saying, “It’s really tough to leave this organization. It’s the only organization I know, but it was amazing.”

The 31-year-old debuted in 2017 and was an immediate success, winning the NL Rookie of the Month for April 2017 with a 3-1 record and a 2.81 ERA. “Senza” finished his tenure ranking eighth in franchise history in games started (145) and 10th in wins (52) and strikeouts (577).

The final move of the day was more of a classic baseball deal than one of pure subtraction for Colorado as RHP Victor Vodnik was sent to the Miami Marlins for IF Connor Norby and RHP Aiden May.

Norby, 26, comes to Denver with less than two years of big league service time and two more option years. The 2021 2nd round selection has played first, second and third base in the Majors. He’s currently batting .265 with six doubles, four home runs and 15 RBI in 23 games with Triple-A Jacksonville of the International League.

“I think maybe one in each deal are all going to go to (Triple-A) Albuquerque, at least to start,” DePodesta said of the prospect acquired. “We think all those guys are guys that could help us pretty soon – whether that’s in the final two months of this year or whether it’s you know early next season, I don’t know. We’ll find out more once we get our hands on them. But I think all those guys could be impacting us here in Denver in relatively short order.”

Following the 13-9 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays, manager Warren Schaeffer offered his sentiments on the trade deadline aftermath. 

“Today was a weird day. I think this day is always a weird day. With three guys on our big league roster that left – three guys that we love – it’s just a weird day,” the 41-year-old skipper said. “Then you have to play a baseball game and move on, but the clubhouse is going to be great. We’re just going to move forward with what we’ve got.”

The Prospects

Adams, no. 9 on the White Sox top 30 prospects for MLB Pipeline, and Martinez, outside of the Brewers top 30, entered the Rockies list at no. 19 and 26, respectively.

The 26-year-old Adams has gone 3-3 with a 4.25 ERA (36.0 IP, 17 ER) since returning to action on June 12 with Charlotte. 

Colorado held onto Kyle Freeland, Michael Lorenzen and Tomoyuki Sugano, so a place in the big league rotation over the final few weeks may be hard to come by for Adams, but next season is definitely within the realm of possibilities according to DePodesta.

“The only way we would have moved (Doyle) was with a guy that we thought could be one of our starting pitchers in relatively short order,” DePodesta said. “(Adams) had Tommy John, so he missed all of ‘25, but he’s back pitching here in ‘26, pitching effectively in Triple-A, and we think he’s got a bright future as a starter.”

Vielma, the youngest of the players acquired at 16 years old, slashed .337/.507/.474 with six doubles, two triples, one homer and 21 RBI over 34 games in his first year as a pro. The Venezuela native has spent time everywhere in the infield except shortstop with the Dominican Summer League White Sox.

“Our whole international department sort of knew him, thought very highly of him,” DePodesta said of Vielma. “He controls the strike zone really well. I think there’s a really good foundation there offensively, but obviously he’s a long way away. But what he’s done so far has been really impressive.”

DePodesta also spoke well of Manfredi who’s gone 4-2 with five saves and a 3.35 ERA (45.2 IP, 17 ER) in 34 relief appearances between Double-A Biloxi and Triple-A Nashville in the Brewers organization this season.

“Manfredi’s also a guy who I think has a chance to be here relatively soon,” the 53-year-old executive said. “We’ve done a job on (Brennan Bernadino) this year as our only left-hander out there. So, at least we have another option now. Again, not just in the immediate term, but also in the relatively near term going forward into next year. We think he can factor into our bullpen from the left side, and it’s a very different look than (Bernardino).”

Since being promoted to Triple-A in June, the 26-year-old reliever has gone 1-2 with three saves, a 3.09 ERA (23.1 IP, 8 ER), 11 walks and 30 strikeouts in 18 appearances with Nashville.

The 19-year-old Martinez has been a standout in the Arizona Complex League, slashing .356/.476/.599 with six home runs, 27 RBI and 21 stolen bases in 40 games. The Venezuela infielder was promoted to Low-A Wilson of the Carolina League last month where he featured exclusively at second base.

May is an Albuquerque native who was selected in the 2nd round by the Marlins out of Oregon State University in 2024. The 23-year-old has posted a 3.47 ERA (96.0 IP, 37 ER) across 24 outings in the minors predominantly as a starting pitcher.

What Didn’t Happen

Colorado reportedly told teams they were willing to trade a slew of players age-27 or older. Players on expiring contracts or ones expiring in the next season or two were the most likeliest candidates to move before Monday’s 6 p.m. EDT deadline.

Ultimately, the teams looking to improve their squad for a postseason run through October simply didn’t offer enough to entice the Rockies front office. 

“We had a lot of players that were asked about. We had a set price in mind of what it would take to acquire any of our players,” DePodesta said. “We think we’ve got a lot of good players here. We think we have the foundation of something that has a chance to be pretty good. So with that, it was going to take a lot to pry any of those pieces away, and I don’t think we got particularly close on (players like Jake McCarthy, Moniak and Hunter Goodman) because our internal price was going to be higher than what the market would bear.”

Thomas Harding and Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reported that Moniak will sign a two-year extension worth $16.25 million on Tuesday. The deal, when official, buys out Moniak’s final year of arbitration in 2027 and one year of free agency for the 2028 season.

Though DePodesta and GM Josh Byrnes could revisit any number of trades this offseason for their controllable players, the organization as a whole wants to see what this group can do together for the 2026 and 2027 seasons.

Avoiding 100 losses is certainly one of the goals right now. That becomes much more achievable when your best players are still with you and not any of the other 29 teams in MLB.

“We weren’t trying to bluff anybody at this deadline. It was, ‘Hey, we like these players and we think they can be part of our future, not just our present,’” DePodesta said. “That’s the stance we took.”

The Plan Ahead

By trading three players from the active roster, Colorado promoted OF Jordan Beck and RHP Nick Frasso from Triple-A Albuquerque ahead of Monday’s contest. The club intends to announce another promotion on Tuesday to take the 26th and final place on the roster.

Beck was sidelined by a left hamstring strain on May 18. When the 25-year-old returned last month, he was optioned to Triple-A. A combination of ineffectiveness through 30 games in the Majors and a crowded outfield in Denver sealed his fate. Beck produced six home runs with 15 RBI and while batting .279 in July with ABQ.

Frasso will make his MLB debut when he sees his first action with Colorado. He was acquired along with OF Landyn Vidourek in the team’s first trade of the summer when RHP Seth Halvorsen was sent to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The 27-year-old reliever has made five appearances out of the bullpen with Triple-A Albuquerque, posting a 1.59 ERA (5.2 IP, 1 ER) and eight strikeouts since the July 20 deal.