The Colorado Rockies made only a handful of roster moves in the offseason leading up to the 2026 MLB season. Most of them around the margins of the roster. And yet, they are set to start the year with an entirely new infield. Well, mostly.

Ezequiel Tovar, of course, has cemented himself as a stalwart at shortstop. But he was also held to 95 games a year ago, missing most of the first half with injury. So even at that spot, getting a healthy Tovar feels like an addition. Everywhere else, we will see entirely new names than we did on Opening Day a year ago.

And on the right side of the diamond, we won’t know for sure who gets the nod until most of Spring Training has played out. Let’s take a look at the setup.

Third Base: Kyle Karros

The young player with the tightest grip on a spot is Kyle Karros at third base. After the trade of Ryan McMahon, who held down the hot corner for a decade, Karros emerged with some intriguing attributes.

In 43 games played, he looked fantastic on defense and unusually patient at the plate. His first couple of weeks were incredibly solid and his steady approach remained a joy to watch throughout. But by the end of the year, his offensive numbers were far from impressive.

He hit .226/.308/.277 and tallied only one home run. As encouraging as his pitches per plate appearance were, the results simply were not there. So he still has plenty to prove this spring.

That said, at 23 years old and with reports he has added to his massive frame, there are plenty of reasons to be bullish on Karros. The job is his with a good month of March.

Shortstop: Ezequiel Tovar

Not much new here. Just hoping for health. After posting 2.5 bWAR in 2023 and 3.8 in 2024, his injuries kept him to 0.6 in 2025. 

Anyone who has watched this team since Tovar debuted knows that they are better with him on the field. He’s a Gold Glove winner. He has already led the NL in doubles. And he will play in his fifth MLB season in 2026… at age 24.

Second Base

Don’t be surprised if these next two spots are a bit like revolving doors.

The Rockies have a lot of candidates to play second base in 2026 and no clear favorite to hold down the position for long. 

Free-agent veteran acquisition Willi Castro will likely find himself at the keystone a fair few times. A switch-hitter who can play all around the diamond, he will see more time on the infield if the Rockies young outfielders can take a collective step forward.

On the other end of the experience spectrum is rookie Adael Amador who won’t turn 23 until April. Also a switch-hitter, he hasn’t shown the best of himself at the MLB level but still has a lot of time to make good on his previous high-end prospect status.

Ryan Ritter, a glove before bat utility guy, is also in the mix. As is Tyler Freeman, the club’s best contact hitter from a year ago. The defensive metrics couldn’t be much worse for Freeman, though, meaning he will need to improve with the glove to earn more playing time. 

Newcomers Nicky Lopez and Edouard Julien also have opportunities to win time. Both make interesting candidates as bench players as well.

If you’re counting, that’s six players with MLB experience at second base fighting for the gig before we even take a look at prospects like Roc Riggio. Suffice it to say that we will all be finding out together what the present and future of this spot will look like for the Rockies.

First Base

A similar thing can be said for first base. A year ago, it appeared that Michael Toglia was the heir apparent. Now, it appears that Charlie Condon is the future. But what happens in the meantime?

Like at second, there are quite a few candidates for the job.

The guy who took over last year, Blaine Crim, provides some pop and had good contact rates in the minors but has yet to translate his skills to the Bigs. Troy Johnston, brought in from Miami, brings an intriguing mix of power and speed along with a lefty bat.

Be on the lookout for Sterlin Thompson, the draft pick the Rockies received as compensation for Trevor Story. He’s got an uphill battle in front of him but was also added to the Rockies 40-man roster after a solid 2025 at Albuquerque. 

The aforementioned Julien has shown himself to be capable at first base as well. 

Johnston and Crim make for an interesting platoon if nobody wins the job outright. The most exciting outcome of course would be Condon taking the world by storm. But there is also no need to rush his timetable.

Infield

It’s a difficult infield to project in terms of results because we can’t say for sure who will see the majority of time at each position.

There are multiple scenarios under which third, second, and first base don’t see a single player log more than 400 innings. Rockies fans can only hold their breath and hope that Tovar remains the one true constant at shortstop.

Still, after a year of frustration and stagnation, it’s almost jarring to see so many new names in the mix.