There is a rebuild going on with the Colorado Rockies in 2026. Coming off three straight 100-loss seasons, there is nowhere to go but up for fans and the organization in the Mile High City.
New president of baseball operations, Paul DePodesta, removed the interim tag from manager and former Virginia Tech standout Warren Schaeffer. There has been some roster turnover for the Rockies since DePodesta took over back in November, and one move he made was acquiring another former Hokies baseball player.
In late January, Colorado traded pitcher Angel Chivilli to the New York Yankees for prospect TJ Rumfield. The former Virginia Tech standout has landed in Denver and is taking advantage of the opportunity that was presented to him.
Former Virgina Tech standout TJ Rumfield joins select Colorado franchise company
Rumfield was picked in the 12th round by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2021 MLB Draft and was a non-roster invitee to the Yankees' 2025 spring training. He ended up catching on and having a good season in Triple-A with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders. He became a trade asset for Yankees GM Brian Cashman.
On Friday night, the Colorado opened a three-game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Coors Field, and Rumfield launched a solo home run in the bottom of the fourth inning for a 2-0 lead. It was his 11th homer of the season, and according to Patrick Lyons of Just Baseball, only one other first-year Rockie has more home runs through 76 games of their rookie season, and that is Trevor Story, who clubbed 19 in 2016 through 76 games.
It has been a good first season for Rumfield in Colorado. He was tabbed as the National League Rookie of the Month in May, and he has carried his offensive pop into June. Schaeffer has the Rockies at 29 wins in his first season, and the goal for them in 2026 is just to try to avoid losing 100 games for the fourth season in a row.
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