Between big league stops with the Brewers, Royals, and Rockies, lefty Jorge de la Rosa has managed to rack up more than five years of service time. It follows that he'll be eligible for free agency after this season, at age 29.
De La Rosa's overall work for the Rockies last year was solid – 4.38 ERA, 9.4 K/9, 4.0 BB/9. His control needs polish, but an under-30 southpaw averaging 93 mph and a strikeout per inning should be a hot commodity on the free agent market.
Will De La Rosa join a 2011 free agent market that's projected to include Josh Beckett, Cliff Lee, Ted Lilly, Javier Vazquez, and Brandon Webb? Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd had discussions this offseason with De La Rosa's agent Bobby Barrett, but O'Dowd told Jim Armstrong of the Denver Post:
"We were just light years apart on where they saw him at this stage of his career and what our risk tolerance was. That's not something we think is out of our reach. It's just that we would be a lot more comfortable seeing it again."
Armstrong says the Rockies' offer was in the three-year, $11MM range. The offer seems pretty light, since the arbitration-eligible De La Rosa commanded half of that amount in 2010 alone. However, De La Rosa feels gratitiude for the opportunity the Rockies provided him, and he wants to return. As O'Dowd notes, a huge 2010 for De La Rosa is a double-edged sword in that it'll help the Rockies now but make retaining him "somewhat problematic."
“De La Rosa’s overall work for the Rockies last year was solid – 4.38 ERA, 9.4 K/9, 4.0 BB/9. His control needs polish, but an under-30 southpaw averaging 93 mph and a strikeout per inning should be a hot commodity on the free agent market.”
Sounds like Oliver Perez…
Except that Pérez had a “solid” 6.83 ERA, a 7.91 BB/9, and just the mention of his name scares little children (and the entire Mets fan base, actually….).
Well he can look forward to the Mets giving him $36M.
While I think de la Rosa may be worth more than 3/11 I don’t think he is worth more than that to the Rockies. When you can set up a rotation like:
Jimenez
Cook
Francis (maybe they pick up his option or extend him with a healthy season)
Hammel
Chacin
…with top starting prospects Friedrick, Matzek, and others likely ready sometime during the length of any 3+ year contract given de la Rosa.
Its not that de la Rosa isn’t good or worth an investment, its just that the Rockies don’t really need him.
Depending on his performance this year….teams would be foolish to give him too much money, the only numbers that jump out from last year is his strikeouts per 9. His ERA wass average, at best, and walked too many..he will probably garner the money from someone with him being a lefty posting these numbers.
Depending on his performance this year….teams would be foolish to give him too much money, the only numbers that jump out from last year is his strikeouts per 9. His ERA wass average, at best, and walked too many..he will probably garner the money from someone with him being a lefty posting these numbers.
I could maybe see a few teams giving him big money based on potential alone. He is an Oliver Perez type in that his stuff is killer (his is actually much better than Ollie’s) if he can harness it. He came on very strong in the second half last year and he should continue to get that ERA down.
He is a late bloomer, almost like Gil Meche who parlayed a few average seasons into a big deal. I could see something like a 3 year 21M contract in his future by a team like the Royals, Pirates, Mariners, or Blue Jays who could be desperate for an impact pitcher in the offseason.
I could maybe see a few teams giving him big money based on potential alone. He is an Oliver Perez type in that his stuff is killer (his is actually much better than Ollie’s) if he can harness it. He came on very strong in the second half last year and he should continue to get that ERA down.
He is a late bloomer, almost like Gil Meche who parlayed a few average seasons into a big deal. I could see something like a 3 year 21M contract in his future by a team like the Royals, Pirates, Mariners, or Blue Jays who could be desperate for an impact pitcher in the offseason.
His strikeouts have gone up and his WHIP has decreased every year for the last 5 years. He will be 29 next year. I’d say the Rockies ought to get him signed up ASAP, even if they just view him as a trade chip.
He won’t be back fans wanted him gone for over half the year and then he shut them up by putting together a great second half he is the fifth best starter we have. I think matzek and chacin could be options next year and a lit cheaper which we all love