LOS ANGELES • Rockies manager Bud Black pulled Germán Márquez and Kyle Freeland, his only two starters to go to the post, and told them that things will be better next year.

That things have to be better.

“It’s important for me and Kyle to have Buddy say that,” said Márquez, one of six players remaining from the 2018 team, the last time the Rockies went to the playoffs.

There are many words that could be used to describe the 2022 Rockies season, but the words that have been circulated the most is pure disappointment. They thought they were setting themselves up for success after signing Kris Bryant to a seven-year deal and extending Freeland, Antonio Senzatela, C.J. Cron, Ryan Mcmahon

and Elias Díaz.

Instead, they fell flat on their faces.

Bryant played in only 42 games, a back strain and plantar fasciitis relegating him to the training room instead of the playing field. Senzatela took three trips to the injured list, while Márquez, Mcmahon and Díaz played well below their expectations.

“Ultimately, the goal is to win the World Series,” manager Bud Black said. “One team is going to be happy at the end.”

“It hasn’t been acceptable all year — we haven’t won on the road all year,” Freeland said. “It’s been the same story over the last four years, us not winning on the road. It’s got to change. It’s got to change within us. It’s got to change within our organization.”

The stats are gruesome. The Rockies finished the 2022 season with a 68-94 record record. They lost 54 games on the road, more than the Dodgers, their opponents for game 162, did all season. Colorado’s .333 road-winning percentage is the fifth-lowest in franchise history. They finished in last place in the NL West yet again and missed the playoffs for the 24th time in their 29-year history.

There were very few bright spots. Daniel Bard was stellar from start to finish, earning 34 saves. He’ll be back for two more years. Cron earned an All-star bid in the first half but stumbled his way through the rest of the year, hitting .196 since Aug. 10. Brendan Rodgers slumped in April, getting only four hits, but rebounded to end with a .267 batting average. He could even find his way onto a Gold Glove finalist list.

The Rockies still won’t admit they need to rebuild because they don’t think they need it, they said. They believe in their young players, and actually gave them a shot at the end of the season. Michael

Toglia, Ezequiel Tovar and Sean Bouchard all fared well in the last month of the season during their limited big-league experience.

“Things got away from us,” veteran Charlie Blackmon said. “I think maybe the silver lining is we could afford to get some guys who weren’t playing in April bats, which will help us in 2023.”

The Rockies haven’t gone and sold off any of their prized possessions yet — they were the only team not to make a trade at the deadline — but have, at least, started to clean house to make space. Reliever Robert Stephenson was designated for assignment and Jholuys Chacín was released. Garrett Hampson, Sam Hilliard, Ty Blach, Connor Joe and Wynton Bernard could be joining them soon as non-tender candidates.

The Rockies are being shy about their offseason wish list, but it’s clear that they need help just about everywhere, from starting pitching to power to center field, if they want to catch up to the rest of the division.

“Hopefully, we are going to compete next year,” general manager Bill Schmidt said. “That’s our expectation — to win as many games as we can.”