Rockies' Monfort calls out Padres spending, roster construction

Colorado Rockies owner Dick Monfort is skeptical of the way the San Diego Padres have constructed their roster.

"What the Padres are doing, I don’t 100% agree with, though I know that our fans probably agree with it. We’ll see how it works out," Monfort said Saturday, according to the Denver Post's Patrick Saunders.

The Padres are projected to have the third-highest payroll in the league in 2023 at a whopping $251 million. Monfort believes the lucrative contracts handed out by teams this offseason increases the pressure on Colorado to spend.

"That puts a lot of pressure (on us)," Monfort said. "But it’s not just the Padres, it’s the Mets, it’s the Phillies. This has been an interesting year."

Monfort acknowledged the Padres' depth of talent, but believes they are not a complete team and will face some financial questions in the future as they try and keep some of their stars in the fold.

"I look at the Padres and they have a really talented team, but they have some holes, too," Monfort said. "They’ve got three, maybe four starting pitchers, and then they’re sort of like us. They have (Joe) Musgrove, (Blake) Snell and (Yu) Darvish, so I don’t know."

"They have spent a lot of money and they will have to spend a lot more if they want to keep (outfielder) Juan Soto. But it does put a lot of pressure on you. Yes, it does."

The Rockies have had a very quiet offseason thus far. The club signed right-hander Pierce Johnson to a one-year, $5-million contract and made a few trades to improve its depth.

Despite the lack of splashy moves thus far, Monfort believes the Rockies are capable of surprising teams and putting together a respectable campaign in 2023.

"I think we have a competitive team, and I think we are learning some things that we need to learn to do differently," Monfort said. "I think this is really a year where we can really step it up a little bit."

The Rockies haven't posted a winning season since 2018 and registered their fewest victories in a season (68) since 2015 last year.