Rubby de la Rosa

Rubby Carlos de la Rosa Corporan

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 185 lb.

• Debut May 24, 2011
• Final Game August 1, 2017
• Born March 4, 1989 in Santo Domingo, Distrito Nacional D.R.

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Biographical Information

Rubby de la Rosa was signed by scout Ezequiel Sepulveda for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2007. He played for the DSL Dodgers in 2007-2008 before coming stateside with the AZL Dodgers in 2009.

De la Rosa made his major league debut with the Dodgers on May 24, 2011 and pitched 13 games in his first season, 10 of them starts, with a record of 4-5, 3.71. He struck out 60 batters in 60 2/3 innings and generally gave the impression of a pitcher with a bright future ahead of him at age 22. However, he only made one major league appearance in 2012, lasting only two-thirds of an inning, before he was shut down and then underwent Tommy John surgery. He had not yet begun his rehabilitation from the procedure when on August 25th, he was traded to the Boston Red Sox as part of a huge blockbuster trade in which the Dodgers acquired four veterans, three of whom led by 1B Adrian Gonzalez were owed huge salaries over the long term, in return for a number of prospects. With Boston looking to rebuild for the future, it was not overly concerned that Rubby would not be available to pitch until some time the following season. Ironically, another of players in the deal, OF Carl Crawford had also undergone the Tommy John procedure two days before the trade, and was also on the sidelines for an extended time.

Rubby made only 11 appearances for the Red Sox in 2013, all of them in relief, putting up an ERA of 5.56 with two losses. He earned a World Series ring as the Red Sox were World Champions, but he was not on the team's postseason roster. With the AAA Pawtucket Red Sox, he went 3-3, 4.26 in 24 games, including 20 starts. he pitched 80 1/3 innings, giving up only 65 hits, although the length of his outings was deliberately kept short to allow him to build back his strength. There were no such concerns at the start of 2014, and after 10 starts, he was 2-3 with a 3.04 ERA in 53 1/3 innings. That is when he was called up to Boston to make a start against the Tampa Bay Rays on May 31st. He was excellent, pitching 7 scoreless innings during which he gave up 4 hits and no walks while striking out 8, getting credit for the 7-1 win. He had another great start on June 16th, when he allowed only one hit over 7 innings to defeat the Minnesota Twins, 1-0. He went 4-8, 4.43, in 19 games, pitching 101 2/3 innings. On December 12th, he was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks along with Allen Webster in return for Wade Miley.

De la Rosa had a very solid first season for the Diamondbacks in 2015, as he went 14-9, 4.67 in 32 starts. He pitched 188 2/3 innings and struck out 150 batters. However, in 2016, he was limited to 13 games (10 starts) by elbow discomfort as his was among a number of injuries to key players that completely sunk the club that year. He went 4-5, 4.26. he underwent stem cell therapy after the season in order to avoid surgery, but in 2017, he made only 9 appearances at the major league level, all in relief, for a total of 7 2/3 innings before throwing in the towel and resigning himself to the fact he would need to undergo Tommy John surgery for the second time.

Further Reading

• Kyler Payne: "De La Rosa overcomes poverty to make Majors: D-backs star righty had to balance school, baseball and work in Dominican Republic", mlb.com, November 25, 2016. [1]

Related Sites

• Rubby de la Rosa on mlb.com