DENVER -- Walker Monfort, announced Thursday as the Rockies’ new executive vice president, promised that he’ll address the club’s recent struggles with fresh approaches.
Monfort, 38, who had been serving as vice president of corporate partnerships, knows the significance of the team’s performance -- two straight 100-plus-loss seasons and a current 18-62 mark that’s tied with the 1904 Senators for the worst in the Modern Era through the first 80 games. Something has to change, and the ideas to do so will be among his responsibilities.
“I don’t think you need to go anywhere beyond the record,” said Monfort. “We’re coming off a couple tough seasons. This has obviously been another very challenging season. And honestly, our expectation is higher. This is not what any of us envisioned.
“The goal is to get back to winning more baseball games, being competitive, and ultimately, it’s to win a championship or multiple championships over the course of time here in Denver.”
In addition to elevating Monfort, the club also announced that president and chief operating officer Greg Feasel, who has been with the club’s front office since 1995 and has served as team president since 2021, will step down at the end of 2025. Until then, Monfort will work alongside Feasel. He will officially assume his responsibilities in January 2026.
Monfort also directly addressed the anticipated criticism that will come with him being the son of Rockies owner/chairman and chief executive officer Dick Monfort.
“You mention the family tie and nepotism and everything that comes along with that,” Walker Monfort said. “I think since Day 1 here at the Rockies, I’ve tried to use that as something to motivate me to actually prove people wrong. I put my work in, just like everyone else here, and I do think I’ve done a good job leading by example.”
Walker Monfort worked in various part-time roles -- including in the visitors' clubhouse, as a grounds crew member and a ticketing and promotions employee -- before officially joining the organization full-time in 2009. He then worked in baseball operations and the Minor Leagues before becoming director of corporate partnerships in 2014. In his most recent role, Monfort worked with all aspects of the operation -- most recently overseeing ROCKIES.TV in a partnership with MLB.
“As I take this next step, I transition a little bit by leading by voice and example, trying to provide direction for this club,” he said. “I do have a plan in place. It’s something my dad and I have talked about in the past -- that I think it could benefit us if we look at things a little bit differently.”
The notion of operating differently comes at a time when the Rockies’ baseball side has taken criticism for being behind the times -- especially when clubs of a similar market size have devoted resources to research and development and other modern methods.
The Rockies have taken steps. In 2023, they opened a performance lab at their Scottsdale, Ariz., training center. This year, they adopted technology to help hitters prepare for games.
Monfort said that during his business-side experience, he did benchmarking reports with MLB on an annual basis and was able to see methods other teams put into practice. In doing so, information from teams of similar market size was most valuable. He’ll take that approach on the baseball side.
“I’ve talked about doing a deep dive into what we’re doing and how we’re currently allocating our resources,” Monfort said. “Part of what we’re talking about here is looking at clubs. Milwaukee is an example. Cleveland is an example. Arizona is an example, Minnesota -- similar market size teams that have had recent success. We need to look at what they’re doing that may be different from us.”
Monfort smiled easily and pointed out that he and his younger brother, Sterling Monfort, currently the team’s pro scouting director, were part of seven combined Colorado state baseball championship teams at Eaton High School. He said the desire to win is central to the family’s involvement in baseball.
Walker Monfort acknowledges that the criticism from a fan base that is “passionately following our baseball team” is that the family is more interested in the business side than on-field success.
Monfort said his father, who will remain at the top of the organization, is on board with the need to make changes.
“It’s a narrative that we don’t care about winning, right?” Monfort said. “Let’s be honest, winning baseball games makes everything much easier. That’s our goal. That’s my family’s goal. We wouldn’t be involved in it if that wasn’t our goal. Part of the step is reiterating that -- that is our focus.
“We grew up playing baseball. We’ve always been baseball fans. We want to win, and I believe we do have the resources to do that.”