DENVER -- The workout cliché “no pain, no gain” hits Rockies shortstop Ezequiel Tovar in a different way than most.
We’re not talking sore muscle, weight room stuff, although the 24-year-old is putting in that work at a fitness center near his offseason home of Miami after a left hip contusion and a left oblique strain limited him to 95 games of the Rockies’ 43-119 nightmare.
After playing previously at 198 pounds -- quite well in 2024, with a National League-leading 45 doubles and a Gold Glove to show for it -- Tovar is now notably chiseled at 191 pounds.
Tovar has sacrificed the foods that bring back happy memories of his Venezuela home of Maracay, where his aunt runs a bakery.
“I used to go to the bakery to buy bread with a two-bolívar bill and walk out with bags full of all kinds of bread in each arm,” Tovar said in Spanish to El Extrabase reporter Daniel Alvarez. “In my house, we’ve always eaten bread. I haven’t completely cut it out. I still like it a lot, but I’ve definitely reduced it quite a bit.”
Rather than a “best shape of my life” story, Tovar’s tale is of growth, one that could fit quite well with his growing reputation as a quiet leader.
The 2025 season -- the second of Tovar’s seven-year, $64.5 million guarantee (with a club option for 2031) -- was supposed to be the time for Tovar to transform from young talent to true star. The previous year’s .269/.295/.469 slash line, with a team-leading 26 home runs and 78 RBIs in 157 games, during his second full season was seen as an emergence. If he could address a tendency to chase outside pitches -- one that led to 200 strikeouts against 23 walks in ’24 -- he could reach the top echelon at his position.
What a star-crossed year 2025 became.
The Rockies brought in fellow Venezuelan Thairo Estrada to strengthen second base, and the two clicked immediately. However, Estrada sustained a broken right wrist when hit by a pitch during Spring Training and dealt with injuries all season.
Tovar sustained the hip injury while sliding in Tampa to make a backhand play during the season’s second game. The Rockies’ 2-1 victory gave them their only peek at .500 during the year. Tovar attempted to play through the pain but went to the injured list in mid-April and missed 26 games.
The oblique injury in early June cost him 36 more games. The time off and lengthy rehab left Tovar short of his best self for the rest of the year. The final result was .253/.294/.400, with nine homers, 33 RBIs and 18 doubles. He finished with 98 strikeouts and 21 walks, so the pitch selection project will continue.
Tovar’s work will happen for a massively changed organization, although there is some continuity in the decision to keep his former third-base coach and last year’s interim manager from early May on, Warren Schaeffer.
New president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta said he inherited a team that is strong through the middle. Hunter Goodman had a solid first full season defensively at catcher and earned a Silver Slugger Award. Center fielder Brenton Doyle struggled through nagging injuries and bad swing habits, but he won Gold Glove Awards in 2023 and ’24.
(Doyle, however, is heavily coveted, and the Rockies need pitching. So a trade is possible.)
“He’s shown, even offensively, some real potential,” DePodesta said of Tovar. “I know his past year wasn’t his best year yet as a big leaguer, but he’s an important piece for us.”
The baby-faced Tovar has been impressing the Rockies with his maturity.
“‘Tovie’ is not the type to ‘rah-rah’ you to death, blow a teammate up or something like that,” Schaeffer said. “He leads by example. You need those guys.”
Tovar, who’s on the Venezuela roster for the 2026 World Baseball Classic, has the opportunity to set an example for the Rockies by owning what went wrong and improving.
The hip injury was likely unavoidable. The oblique injury was his first muscle pull. Tovar took that as a call to trade some memories of the food of his youth for a chance to deliver memorable Rockies performances.
“I’ve focused on strengthening my core -- my abs and obliques,” he said. “That’s been the main focus to help prevent the injury I suffered last year.
“I’ve combined my workout routine with better eating habits. I haven’t changed much; I’ve just cut out sodas and sugar. It’s made a big difference for me. I went from 198 pounds down to 191, which is about where I want to be. Right now, I feel really good about my body.”