Jorge de la Rosa

Jorge Alberto de la Rosa Gonzalez

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 1", Weight 190 lb.

• Debut August 14, 2004
• Final Game September 30, 2018
• Born April 5, 1981 in Monterrey, Nuevo León Mexico

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Jorge de la Rosa was signed by scout Oswaldo Alvarez for the Arizona Diamondbacks in March 1998. He made his pro debut for the DSL Diamondbacks that summer. However, before the start of the 2000 season, the D-Backs sold his contract to the Sultanes de Monterrey in the Mexican League, then before the 2001 season, he was purchased from Monterrey by the Boston Red Sox. After the 2003 season, he was traded back to Arizona as part of the Curt Schilling deal, then two days later, on December 1st, moved again, this time to the Milwaukee Brewers in a huge nine-player deal that included Chris Capuano, Lyle Overbay, Richie Sexson and Junior Spivey among its better-known names. It was with the Brewers that he made his debut, on August 14, 2004. He made five starts for Milwaukee that first season, going 0-3, then spent most of the 2005 season in their bullpen, making 38 appearances. He started poorly for the Brewers in 2006, going 2-2, 8.60 in 18 games (3 starts) and on July 25th, he was traded to the Kansas City Royals in return for IF Tony Graffanino. He pitched a bit better for K.C., going 3-4, 5.18 in 10 starts. 2007 was his first (almost) full season as a major league starter as he was 8-12, 5.82 in 26 games.

On April 30, 2008, he was sent to the Colorado Rockies as the player to be named later in a deal for Ramon Ramirez. Colorado is usually a graveyard for pitchers, but after moving so much in his first seasons as a pro, Jorge found the place to his liking and settled down for a long stay. He went 10-8, 4.92 in 2008, then followed that with a great season in 2009, when he was 16-9, 4.38. His career was derailed by an injury which cost him the second half of the 2011 season and most of 2012, but he bounced back strong. In 2013, he went 16-6, 3.49 in 30 starts, and then 14-11, 4.10 in 2014. Both his solid ERAs in a very unfriendly environment for pitchers and the fact he could maintain a winning record while playing in front of a team that was chronically below .500 were signs that he was doing outstanding work, in spite of numbers that could have looked pedestrian at first glance.

On May 21, 2015, he became the all-time strikeout leader for the Rockies, passing Ubaldo Jimenez, when he recorded his 774th strikeout in a Rockies uniform in a game against the Philadelphia Phillies. On June 14th, he added the career win mark to his resumé by beating the Miami Marlins, 4-1, for his 73rd victory with Colorado. Aaron Cook had previously held the record. De la Rosa also holds the record for the most career wins at Coors Field. Entering the 2016 season, he had 48 wins at the notoriously pitcher-hostile ballpark, 12 more than anyone else. He added 5 more that season as he went 8-9, 5.51 and finished his nine-year stint in the Centennial State with 86 wins.

With the Rockies having a number of young pitchers ready to join the starting rotation, retaining him was not a priority when he became a free agent after the season, and in 2017, he re-connected with his original organization, the Arizona Diamondbacks, who moved him to the bullpen full time. He made 65 appearances, going 3-1, 4.21 and logging 51 133 innings. He made it to the postseason for the first time at the age of 36, ironically by facing the Rockies in the Wild Card Game on [October 4]]th. True to his new role as a LOOGY, he faced just one batter in a key situation. In the 7th inning with Arizona leading 6-4, he replaced Robbie Ray with one out and Jonathan Lucroy on third base. National League batting champion Charlie Blackmon came up and he tried to fool the D-Backs with a bunt; it was successful in that Lucroy scored, but Blackmon was out at first base, and Archie Bradley then came on with the bases empty and retired DJ LeMahieu to end the inning without any further damage as the D-Backs prevailed, 11-8. He made two more appearances in the Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, allowing no runs in 2 innings, but Arizona was swept in three games.

De la Rosa was back with Arizona at the start of 2018. In 42 games, he went 0-2, 4.63 in 42 games before being released on August 4th after the D-Backs had acquired a few relievers at the trading deadline. Just a week later, however, on August 10th, he found another home, signing with the Chicago Cubs and being immediately added to the 25-man roster.

Notable Achievements

• 15 Wins Seasons: 2 (2009 & 2013)

Further Reading

• Owen Perkins: "Veteran De La Rosa showing he's still effective: Soon-to-be-37-year-old left-hander vying for a spot in D-backs' bullpen", mlb.com, March 12, 2018. [1]

Related Sites

• Jorge de la Rosa on mlb.com