Todd Helton and Peyton Manning have more in common than being former Tennessee Volunteers quarterbacks and Colorado sports legends. Both played their respective sports at a Hall of Fame level for a decade-plus and left their franchises scrambling to replace them upon retirement. Until the Denver Broncos drafted Bo Nix, the graphic of the carousel at quarterback since Manning’s retirement became the bane of Broncos fans. While less egregious, the Colorado Rockies have dealt with the same problem at first base since Helton hung up his cleats. Now that Michael Toglia has been sent down to Triple-A, the long-term conundrum at the position is rearing its ugly head.
The Rockies’ First Base Conundrum
Helton retired following the 2013 season. Since then, the Rockies have mostly attempted to address the position with veterans. Justin Morneau had an excellent 2014 season for Colorado, hitting .319/.364/.496 with 17 homers and 82 RBI. But the 32-year-old had dealt with injuries before coming to Colorado and he was not a long-term answer. When Morneau got hurt in 2015, the Rockies turned to Ben Paulsen, their third-round draft pick in 2009 out of Clemson University.
Paulsen was much younger than Morneau, but failed to emerge as a consistent option. He was solid offensively in 2015, hitting .277/.326/.462 with 11 home runs and 49 RBI in 354 plate appearances. He posted a .996 fielding percentage with three errors in 617 1/3 innings. But Paulsen lasted just 39 games in 2016, struggling mightily at the plate before he was designated for assignment.
Then came veteran Mark Reynolds. Reynolds served as the Rockies first baseman during 2016-17. In 118 games in 2016, he posted an offensive season very similar to Paulsen’s 2015. His arrival in Colorado came with a vast improvement offensively from his previous season with the St. Louis Cardinals. In 2017, Reynolds was again solid offensively and serviceable defensively on the Rockies’ first postseason team since 2009. When your infield is comprised of DJ LeMahieu, Trevor Story, and Nolan Arenado, a “serviceable” first baseman is all that’s required defensively. The same can be said for 2018. But that year was the beginning of questionable free-agent signings at the position.
The Saga of Ian Desmond and Daniel Murphy
The Reynolds signing was a boon for the Rockies. He signed a team-friendly deal and provided great value. But when Colorado signed Ian Desmond to a five-year deal worth $70 million before the 2017 season, they were committing to a true answer at first base for the foreseeable future. It was a position he had never played. With Reynolds still the primary first baseman in 2017, it provided Desmond time to learn the position. But not enough time, as Desmond did not handle the position change well. He was a disaster defensively. Per Statcast, Desmond was a combined -9 outs above average in 165 games at the position across 2017-18.
But the Rockies still had an all-world defensive infield, so the club was much more concerned about Desmond’s hitting. He was solid offensively in 2017, but he played in just 95 games due to a fractured left hand and various other injuries. In 2018, he hit just .236/.307/.422. But while he was way short of the .285 average he posted in 2016 with the Rangers, his production was almost identical. Going into 2019, the Rockies recognized that Desmond was obviously not a fit at first base and moved him back to the outfield for his final season in Colorado.
Questionable Front Office Decisions
The Rockies entered 2019 with major expectations. They were coming off the first back-to-back postseason appearances in franchise history and took the Los Angeles Dodgers to a Game 163 to decide the National League West in 2018. LeMahieu signed with the New York Yankees before the 2019 season. Yet again, the Rockies were spending big money on a veteran whose primary position was not first base to fill the position.
Again, the gamble turned out poorly for the Rockies. Daniel Murphy was as bad or arguably worse defensively than Desmond at first. In 139 games during his Colorado tenure, Murphy was worth -10 OAA. Like Desmond, he hit for a solid average in 2019, then saw a steep drop-off in his second season with the club. Murphy never matched Desmond’s production. While he was healthier than he was in the previous two seasons, he was nowhere near the All-Star hitter he was in 2016-17 with the Washington Nationals.
The Cron Zone
Following the COVID-19 season of 2020, the Rockies yet again turned to a veteran to handle first base. In 2019, C.J. Cron was solid for the Minnesota Twins, hitting .253/.311/.469 with 25 home runs and 78 RBI. From 2021-23, he provided the Rockies with the best consistent offense at the position since Helton. In his three years with Colorado, Cron hit .267/.337/.492 with a whopping 68 homers and 226 RBI.
Enter the Cron Zone for the second time on #OpeningDay! pic.twitter.com/QBo59NJiAY
— MLB (@MLB) March 31, 2023
Cron was worth 5.7 WAR with the Rockies and achieved his first career All-Star appearance in 2022. The deal worked out greatly for both sides. But the Rockies were nowhere near contention in his time there. Cron was traded in a deadline deal to the Los Angeles Angels in 2023. They were back to square one.
When the Rockies first signed Kris Bryant ahead of the 2022 season, it was thought that Bryant would see time at the position. He ended up playing only seven games at first base in 2023. The Rockies were ready to hand the reins to Toglia after trading Cron. Toglia was drafted 23rd overall in the first round of the 2019 MLB Draft out of UCLA. After years of veteran band-aids, Toglia finally presented an option as the first baseman of the future. But he struggled mightily at the plate in his first two seasons, failing to establish a foothold at the position.
Toglia Time
Toglia began the 2024 season with the Rockies but was sent down on April 24 after beginning the season hitting .093 in 43 April at-bats. However, he put his head down in Triple-A and earned a call-up on June 6. Toglia will never hit for average and strikes out at a high rate. But he has tantalizing power that meshes well with Coors Field. In 116 games last season, he finished second and fourth (respectively) on the Rockies with 25 home runs and 55 RBI.
He thrived in hitting coach Hensley Meulens’ offense that relied on home run production to minimize the effect of high strikeout rates. Outside of Ezequiel Tovar and Brenton Doyle, Toglia entered 2025 as a prime breakout candidate for Colorado. Finally, the club had found an answer at the position. But…this season could not have started much worse for Toglia. His home run production from last season vanished, while his strikeout rate was still way too high.
With Toglia hitting .194 with a 39.1% K rate, he was sent down on May 31 to Triple-A Albuquerque. It was an obvious step back for Toglia and arguably the worst-case scenario for the Rockies at the position. At a certain point, it became unavoidable as Toglia floundered on offense. With the potential breakout season turning into a nightmare, old wounds at the position for the Rockies have resurfaced.
The Revolving Door Continues
Toglia already proved he is resilient. But after his second half last season, it felt like he had arrived in the majors for good. It will take more resolve for Toglia to fight his way back to the majors and prove that he is the long-term answer for the Rockies at first base. When he is hitting home runs, he showed last year the tantalizing option he can be for Colorado. But when the power vanishes, so does his offense. He will have to significantly cut down his strikeout rate and find his power again before he can realistically be an option for the Rockies.
Until if/when that happens, the Rockies will use several players at first base, including veterans Kyle Farmer, Tyler Freeman, and Orlando Arcia. They are hoping Toglia can figure it out in Triple-A. Because if he does not, the Rockies are yet again back to square one at the position.
Toglia was the first first baseman drafted in the first round by the Rockies since Helton in 1995. Yes, first basemen are not valued as much as other positions, but the neglect by the Rockies front office to address the position through the draft continues to hurt them. Grant Lavigne was drafted 42nd overall in the 2018 draft but never made it out of the minors and was released following the 2024 season. Currently, there are no first basemen among the Rockies’ top 30 prospects. It appeared Toglia was finally the long-term answer the Rockies had been seeking. If the Rockies want to avoid more years in first base purgatory, they better hope Toglia can be that player again.
Photo Credit: © Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images