​The Colorado Rockies are a team in the midst of a rebuild. With this in mind, the staff at Purple Row thought it would be useful to revisit the “State of the Position” series that we ran in March to see where things stand. We’ve asked authors of the spring articles to re-evaluate their earlier remarks with an eye toward the August 3 trade deadline.For my initial article about the new coaching staff, I described them as a “data-driven team of problem solvers and relationship builders.” I also introduced you to them, and asked manager Warren Schaeffer (who I described as a “communicator” and “relationship builder”) to describe each member of his staff in one word:AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementBench Coach, Jeff Pickler: “Prepared”Assistant Bench Coach, Ron Gideon: “Wise”Pitching Coach, Alon Leichman: “Unique”Assistant Pitching Coach, Gabe Ribas: “Polished”Bullpen Coach, Matt Buschmann: “Funny”First Base/Outfield Coach, Doug Bernier: “Energetic”Third Base Coach, Andy González: “Machine”Bullpen Catcher & Assistant to Baseball Operations, Kyle Cunningham: “Controversial”Catching Coach & Bullpen Catcher, Chris Rabago: “Sneaky”After a whirlwind offseason, we finally were able to see the coaching staff in action. Schaeffer was running his first spring training, and his new staff put their words into action. Spring training was all about experimentation. Not only did they tinker with baseball strategies, but they also tinkered with basic things such as the daily schedule. We saw some early results in spring training, but now we’re in the midst of the regular season and can start to see progress in those areas.Since we’re only part of the way through the season, the picture will be incomplete. But we can still get glimpses of how things have been working (or not).All stats current as of July 11, 2026.At the beginning of the season, the Rockies experimented with “bulk relievers.” Essentially, the idea was that the game would start with an opener, and then he would be relieved after an inning for someone else to pitch 4-6 innings in the middle of the game. Initially, this was reserved for Antonio Senzatela and Chase Dollander. When he was called up on April 14, Tanner Gordon was also in the mix. The thinking behind it was that the “starter” could go deeper in the games – ideally the sixth or seventh inning – while not seeing the top of the order right out of the gate. It was also promoted as a way to save the bullpen, especially with the extreme conditions the Rockies have to play in. As an additional wrinkle, they would occasionally have a starter throw his scheduled bullpen in the game.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementDollander made 10 appearances before his injury, and six of them were in relief. Five were bulk relief, where he pitched anywhere from four to six innings, and one was an in-game bullpen appearance. Senzatela was also used in a bulk relief role, but h