Colorado Rockies set Opening Day roster for 2025
Mar 27, 2025, 1:30 PM
The Colorado Rockies are ready for their 33rd season of big league baseball, setting their roster for Opening Day.
The Rockies matchup with the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday at 2:10 Denver time. Kyle Freeland will toe the slab for the Rockies and Ryan Pepiot gets the ball for the Rays. Freeland is one of 26 to make Colorado’s Opening Day roster, with a few notable surprises.
The squad is set. #OpeningDay pic.twitter.com/cHakYL3dzM
— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) March 27, 2025
After a plethora of last minute moves including DFA’ing Sam Hilliard and signing Mickey Moniak, the most notable snub from the Opening Day lineup is OF Zac Veen, who had the best performance by any Rockies player in the spring. He was recently optioned to Triple-A Albuquerque. Even though Colorado gets another year of control over Veen by having him play in the minors for a little longer, it’s a puzzling decision to not have the Spring Training MVP on the Opening Day roster.
Newly-acquired INF/OF Tyler Freeman will be in the lineup after coming to Colorado in exchange for Nolan Jones last week. Nick Martini also made the cut along with Sean Bouchard in the outfield after skipper Bud Black previously said that the two would be competing for the final spot on the bench. To no surprise, Brenton Doyle headlines the outfielders as he aims to win another Gold Glove.
With Thairo Estrada opening the season on the 10-day IL, Kyle Farmer rounds out the infield with Ryan McMahon, Michael Toglia and Ezequiel Tovar, who is looking to build off his impressive Gold Glove-winning 2024 campaign. Austin Gomber and Jeff Criswell will also open the season on the 15-day IL.
A good sign for the Rockies is that Kris Bryant is healthy to start the season. The 2016 World Series champion has played just 159 games in his first three seasons with the Rockies, and has only hit 10 home runs once. Health is key with him, but he hasn’t played more than 100 games since 2019. He will most likely be Colorado’s DH to start, but can step into the outfield to provide relief if needed.
On the mound, the other four core starters are healthy and active for Colorado in Freeland, German Marquez, Ryan Feltner and Antonio Senzatela. Seth Halvorsen and Victor Vodnik will be the 1-2 punch to close the games. Jimmy Herget will be a new face for Rockies fans to learn, as the 31-year-old came over from the Atlanta Braves. He posted a 2.92 ERA in 11 appearances for Colorado in the spring.
The club has not yet announced the lineup for tomorrow’s clash against Tampa Bay, but the 26-man roster is here and solidified as baseball season gets underway.
