DENVER -- The Rockies have parted ways with pitching coach Alon Leichman after one season, a Major League source confirmed on Thursday.
The club has not yet announced the decision. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal was the first to report the move.
Leichman, 37, was hired for manager Warren Schaeffer’s staff last December, along with assistant pitching coach Gabe Ribas and bullpen coach Matt Buschmann during the Winter Meetings, as the Rockies revamped their coaching staff.
Leichman, who drew attention for calling pitches from the dugout, had also done so as an assistant pitching coach and assistant pitching director with the Marlins in 2025, and he brought the innovation to the Rockies, along with urging pitchers to diversify their pitch mixes.
Leichman’s in-game strategy was presented as “pitch suggesting” rather than pitch-calling. But by the summer months, Schaeffer decided to largely abandon the idea. Calls came from the dugout on occasion, but for the most part, pitchers preferred having two-time All-Star catcher Hunter Goodman and backup Brett Sullivan call pitches.
During his end-of-season press conference, Rockies president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta suggested that having pitches called from the dugout led to unwanted issues.
“One of the things that became a challenge was this is a tough environment to pitch in, and if you’re going to do something different, like pitch-calling or even if you use a different type of pitching rotation or whatever it might be, you’re going to give up runs,” DePodesta said. “And then that impacts the credibility of that person or the people that are in charge that implemented the change. Those are real challenges.
“That’s one example of things we learned, and said, ‘Now as we go forward and if we are going to try things differently, what do we need to do ahead of time to ensure that something like that doesn’t happen? Are we going to put people in the best possible chance to succeed -- not just players, but even coaches?”
Pitching was a problem when the team went 43-119 in 2025, and the pitching -- especially the starters -- had another rough season as the Rockies went 58-104 in ‘26.
The Rockies’ 5.59 pitching staff ERA was highest in the Majors, with starters finishing with a 6.28 ERA -- much higher than the second-worst Athletics at 5.61. The rotation also yielded a MLB-high .303 batting average, with the Athletics’ starters again being the second-worst at .272.
The lack of success was not for a lack of ideas. After years of little activity in the free-agent market, the Rockies signed veteran starters Michael Lorenzen, Jose Quintana and Tomoyuki Sugano to one-year contracts.
Sugano mostly remained healthy throughout the year, and was the club’s best pitcher in the first half. But Quintana sustained a left elbow injury in May and didn’t return until the season’s final days. Meanwhile, Lorenzen struggled mightily and was designated for assignment in August. Holdover veteran Kyle Freeland also struggled, going 4-12 with a 6.65 ERA in 26 starts.
Young starters also had growing pains.
Righty and 2023 first-round Draft choice Chase Dollander, who made seven of his 10 appearances after the Rockies employed a reliever as an “opener,” showed some promise with a 3.89 ERA, but he sustained a right elbow injury that led to season-ending surgery. As the season progressed, Tanner Gordon, 2022 first-round pick Gabriel Hughes and Mason Adams, acquired from the White Sox at the Trade Deadline, all saw time in the rotation, with Adams being the most successful.
The Rockies continued taking new looks at pitching. Late in the year, starter Ryan Feltner had some of his better results as a “piggyback,” who entered after another starter.
The Rockies have vowed to continue to look at innovative ways to approach pitching, even with Leichman’s departure.