Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer: ‘It all starts with culture’

The Rockies won’t look different in some ways when they take the field in Miami on Friday.

Their uniforms are the same. Kyle Freeland will be the Opening Day starter for a fourth-consecutive season and the fifth time overall. Manager Warren Schaeffer returns, now given the backing that comes with having the “interim” tag removed.

But 10 players in uniform weren’t with the club when its horrific 2025 voyage mercifully ended last September. And Schaeffer now works as part of a radically-altered organizational structure from the top of the pyramid down, part of a series of changes with an impact that can’t be measured today, and won’t be accurately quantified after this season — or even next season or the year after that, really.

Schaeffer, general manager Josh Byrnes and president of baseball operations Paul Depodesta have a collaborative environment.

“So, it’s Paul, Josh and myself on a daily basis communicating about roster decisions, culture-building, just how this play should look moving forward,” Schaeffer told Josh Dover and Cecil Lammey during an interview on 104.3 The Fan this week.

“Culture” is a concept Schaeffer emphasizes. While DePodesta and Byrnes are analytically-focused — and Schaeffer has the metrics at his disposal, too — he knows his job in the Rockies’ dugout is to build the right kind of environment.

It’s one reason he got the full-time job last year despite the Rockies’ struggles; players praised his ability to maintain a positive atmosphere and keep the team engaged even as the defeats accumulated. The season was lost; the culture wasn’t.

Now, he has a chance to build something.

“That’s where it all starts. You have to start there,” he said. “If you don’t start with the culture, it will never come around, the atmosphere that you create on a daily basis.

“We have a very unique game. I know every game is different, but we’re together 190 days in a row. Monotony can set in. It’s a place where, if you don’t love coming to the ballpark and being with your teammates and have a common goal, it’ll vanish right before your eyes, and you’ll just skate through the season.

“So, we’re very intent on not making that happen and having guys come to a place where we want to win. And we go about that business every day, and that’s an exciting way to go about your day.

“But, yeah, I mean, it all starts with culture.”

THE INVOLVEMENT FROM THE TOP DOWN OF THE ROCKIES HIERARCHY

Walker Monfort is involved, too. The son of Rockies owner Dick Monfort, he took the lead on overhauling the organization in the offseason, spearheading the addition of DePodesta and Byrnes and giving them free rein to remodel baseball operations, providing a long-needed modernization.

The younger Monfort is around, but is not a meddlesome presence. He lets the triumvirate of Schaeffer, Byrnes and DePodesta do their work.

“We speak with Walker a lot in the offseason. Saw him in spring training a lot,” Schaeffer explained. “He’s kind of — I would say, not ivory tower. I mean he’s amongst us, but we don’t talk to him as much.”

In other words, he lets the people with baseball knowledge do their baseball jobs. That’s a comforting thought as the Rockies begin the laborious process of climbing back from the sport’s abyss to respectability.

Related

Report: Trade value of Rockies’ Goodman could be affected by his defenseRockies open by striking out seven-straight times en route to 11-2 defeatReport: Rockies letting other teams know that several players are available at deadlineRockies’ late rally falls short in 8-5 loss to BrewersSugano earns 10th win as Rockies start road trip by beating NL Central leadersRockies offense, bullpen can’t match Hughes’ strong start in 8-0 throttling