Earlier today, the Rockies exercised their 2014 club option on left-hander Jorge De La Rosa. That decision will keep De La Rosa under contract for a very reasonable $11MM, but Troy Renck of the Denver Post tweets that the Rockies may have eyes on keeping him in Denver longer, as the two sides are expected to discuss a multiyear deal in the offseason (Twitter link).
Renck elaborates (via Sulia), opining that Colorado should be aggressive because De La Rosa is one of few successful pitchers in franchise history who have expressed interest in remaining in Denver despite the hitters' paradise that is Coors Field. De La Rosa likes pitching for the Rockies, and his preference is to stay there, according to Renck.
De La Rosa, who will turn 33 next season, pitched to a 3.49 ERA with 6.0 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in his first year back from Tommy John surgery. He was also comfortable at high altitude this year and allowed a lower OPS at home (.695) than on the road (.746). However, his lifetime body of work doesn't quite jive with those numbers. For his career, the left-hander owns a 4.70 ERA with 7.6 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9.
As MLBTR's offseason outlook for the Rockies explains, Colorado has a great deal of question marks in their rotation beyond De La Rosa, Tyler Chatwood, and Jhoulys Chacin. Locking De La Rosa up beyond 2014 would help stabilize their rotation over the next few years.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
