SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Putting the finishing touches on the 2026 Opening Day roster meant the Rockies would have some tough choices to make in the bullpen.

Among the choices was moving Chase Dollander into a relief role — for now.

Dollander, selected ninth overall in the 2023 MLB draft, started 21 games for the Rockies in his rookie season last year. It seems his next outing for the Rockies will be his first relief appearance.

With Ryan Feltner being named as the fifth starter to open the season, Dollander will stick with the Rockies rather than hone his craft in Albuquerque against Triple-A batters.

“We want Chase to develop at the big-league level and feel like facing big-league hitters on a consistent basis is going to lead to his development better than it would at Triple-A at this point,” Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer said on Sunday when the starting rotation was revealed.

The 24-year-old Dollander admitted on Monday he was “surprised about the decision” but also said he was ready to tackle the new challenge.

“I’m still going to prepare the way that I do and make sure I’m prepared for every game that comes my way,” Dollander said. “I’m going to see what some of these guys do in the bullpen, and maybe pick up some new things. I’ll talk to those guys and see what they do for their routines and things like that and then see if I can add some stuff. But for the most part, it’s going to be the same.”

Dollander was one of 18 Rockies players age 24 or younger to appear in a game for the Rockies in 2025, the most in franchise history. In 98.0 innings, he posted a 6.52 ERA.

The alarming trend, however, came when Dollander pitched at Coors Field. In his 11 starts spanning 46.0 innings in Denver, his ERA exploded to 9.98. Away from elevation, Dollander posted a 3.46 ERA in 10 starts covering 52.0 innings.

Dollander’s time in the bullpen could be an interesting one to watch as he fared very well in his first 25 pitches every start last season, limiting opponents to a .191 batting average. For pitches 26 through 50, that number jumped to .324.

Those numbers and some of the struggles from last season had Dollander’s mentality focused on improvement this spring, especially when the opposing batter is at a distinct disadvantage. Last year, with an 0-2 count, batters posted a .299 batting average against Dollander.

“I don’t need to try harder with two strikes,” Dollander said of the biggest lesson he learned this spring. “That’s something that I’m just going to have to almost continually tell myself when I’m on the mound. Try less. You don’t need to try harder.”

Those types of adjustments will be a key to Dollander’s development, something the Rockies can watch firsthand as he starts the season tasked with long relief but also with an eye toward the future.

“We see Chase Dollander as an eventual front-line rotation guy. That’s what we see,” Schaeffer said. “We believe we have something really good with Feltner as the fifth guy and Dollander in the bullpen. We like that combination.”

New skills for Opening Day

Dollander will be a part of his first MLB Opening Day roster when the Rockies take on the Miami Marlins on Friday. Another player making his first Opening Day roster is infielder/outfielder Ryan Ritter.

Ritter, who played 30 games at shortstop and 29 games at second base last season, has added the outfield to his positional versatility this offseason. Taking on that challenge and excelling at it this spring helped Ritter have an advantage in the final roster decisions.

“I loved his ability to come into camp, compete for a job and add new things into it, which is not an easy thing to do at all,” Schaeffer said. “He played left field at a high level, in my opinion, first jumping out there and he will only get better. It really impressed me what ‘Ritt’ did.”

Abby Greer Award winner

TJ Rumfield, also making his first Opening Day roster as Colorado’s primary first baseman, was named on Monday as the winner of the 2026 Abby Greer Award. The award, named for a 6-year-old girl and avid sports fan who lost her life in an accident near Coors Field in 2002, signifies Colorado’s Most Valuable Player from spring training.

Rumfield entered Monday’s game against the Detroit Tigers slashing .280/.362/.520 and leading the team with four home runs while tying Hunter Goodman for the team lead with 12 RBIs.