You think you dislike Dick Monfort now? Wait until he serves as a leading hawk in the upcoming Major League Baseball labor negotiations.
The hardline and mostly small market owners will push for a salary cap after the current collective bargaining agreement expires at the conclusion of the 2026 season. In an exclusive interview before the 2024 season, Monfort told me that he viewed a cap and a floor as the only long-term solution for baseball.
The talk has grown louder over the past few months due to the changing landscape in national and local TV money — good luck convincing the Yankees, Dodgers, Cubs and Red Sox to share their media dollars — and motivation for expansion and division realignment.
Here’s the problem: Nothing has stopped the big market teams from spending, and the small market teams have not shown a willingness to match them. Or simply can’t.
So, you have teams like the 2024 White Sox and the 2025 Rockies — two of the worst ever, a true reflection of how bad things can get when a low budget collides with front office incompetence.
The upcoming labor talks represent an inflection point for Monfort as the Rockies’ owner. Without a cap and floor, there is a possibility he would consider selling the team, the desired outcome for most disgruntled fans who have watched Colorado post 13 losing seasons over the last 15 years, including three straight with 100 losses.
Absent that outcome — which is a long shot — there is hope Monfort’s involvement in labor talks will force him to step away from baseball operations. That would give a new team president, general manager, assistant general manager, scouting director and a handful of experienced scouts the traction they need to get his doormat franchise back on track.
That is the only way out of this mess. Less Monfort — way less. More outside voices and fresh faces. Let Walker Monfort run the business side. Hire baseball people from the Guardians, Brewers, Diamondbacks and Dodgers, and give them five years to fix this carnage without meddling.
Watching the success and aggressive postures of the Broncos, Nuggets and Avs owners, Monfort comes off as selfish. There is a modern template for a sports owner — the Walton-Penner group, Josh Harris, Steve Cohen — and Monfort isn’t it. He was in charge of the Rockies when they reached the World Series. He will always have that memory.
If he no longer views a path forward, he must remove himself from baseball decisions or the franchise entirely when a new CBA is mercifully agreed upon.
Gabe the Guy: This point will become clearer as the season progresses, but it is clear the Avs missed Gabe Landeskog as much in the room as on the ice. Part of the reason the Avs underachieved the past three years is that there was no single, defining voice. Nathan MacKinnon admitted that Landeskog provides this leadership. He relates to all players and can communicate concerns to Jared Bednar. With Landeskog back in his role, there are no excuses for the Avs.
Not cool, Joe: Regardless of Sunday’s outcome, the Broncos will be favored in Week 4 on Monday night at home against the Bengals. Why? Joe Burrow is out three months following toe surgery. The Bengals are not going to be happy until they turn Burrow into Andrew Luck and force him into premature retirement.