Rockies first baseman from Yankees trade is a 'breakout star' in 2026

Rockies first baseman from Yankees trade is a ‘breakout star’ in 2026 originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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The Colorado Rockies have their first baseman of the future. 

Last offseason, the AL West club traded right-handed reliever Angel Chivilli to the New York Yankees for TJ Rumfield. 

At the time, Rumfield hadn’t made his Major League debut but he posted strong offensive numbers in the minors. 

With several years of control, the Rockies took a chance that Rumfield could help them crawl out of their losing ways and turn into a contender. 

While the latter has not come to fruition, Rumfield has certainly impressed in 2026. Bleacher Report’s Kerry Miller wrote Friday that he’s been Colorado’s top rookie of the season. 

“When it comes to breakout stars for Colorado, you always have to ask: Can he do it on the road, too? In Rumfield’s case, yes. He has an OPS of at least .800 at Coors Field and away from it,” Miller wrote. “He boasts a top-10 batting average (.300) among qualified hitters. He also hit .290 over the past two years in the minors, so this hasn’t completely come out of nowhere.” 

Rumfield has swatted 15 home runs, and his .393 OBP ranks third in the Majors behind Jake Bauers (.394) and Yordan Alvarez (.429). 

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It has to be exciting for the Rockies to see an under-the-radar trade like this one pan out. 

Chivili has shown flashes of nastiness with the Yankees. But like most pitchers, he had poor results at Coors Field, leading the Rockies to move on. 

Rumfield’s 3.7 bWAR is the highest on the Rockies by far, leading catcher Hunter Goodman’s 2.4 BWAR by a decent margin. 

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