Baltimore Orioles Keeping Tabs On Colorado Rockies Starter Jorge De La Rosa
By Andrew Dill
Apr 30, 2014; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Colorado Rockies pitcher Jorge De La Rosa against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
With the Major League Baseball trade deadline just less than three weeks away, one Colorado Rockies player has been linked to a team. According to The Baltimore Sun, the Baltimore Orioles are ‘closely monitoring’ Colorado Rockies ace Jorge De La Rosa.
De La Rosa, 33, has ties with Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette who signed the southpaw out of the Mexican League in 2001 where he was in charge of the Boston Red Sox.
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The Orioles like the Rockies, rank in the bottom half of the league in terms of team ERA from their starting pitching. Baltimore currently ranks 23rd in the Majors with an ERA of 4.14 while the Colorado Rockies rank dead last with a dreadful ERA of 5.33. Colorado’s ERA could be much worse without ace Jorge De La Rosa. For the past couple of years, De La Rosa has been the most dependable pitcher in their rotation.
De La Rosa has an incredible 2013 season where he tied a career-high in wins with 16 (went 16-9 in 2009). He ended up finishing the 2013 campaign going 16-6 with an ERA of 3.49, striking out 112 batters through 167.2 innings in 30 starts.
De La Rosa’s ERA may be a bit inflated due to a nagging back problem he has dealt with this season, but he has won three consecutive decisions entering his start Friday night vs. Minnesota Twins. Jorge currently ranks 6th in the NL in wins with nine and 7th in the NL in walks with 42.
De La Rosa loves to pitch at Coors Field and the number back him up. So far during the 2014 campaign, De La Rosa is 5-2 with a 3.73 ERA in nine starts. On the road it has been a totally different story as the veteran is currently 4-4 with a high ERA of 5.87.
If De La Rosa did in fact get traded to the Orioles during the month at some point, he would rejoin former Rockies ace Ubaldo Jimenez at Camden Yards.
It’s hard to see Colorado trading De La Rosa since they want to extend him as he is on his final year of his contract — making $11.0 million. We will just have to find out within the month if Colorado will pull the trigger on a deal involving the southpaw from Monterrey, Mexico.