Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Jorge De La Rosa has suffered a groin strain and was put on the 15-day disabled list, the team announced Wednesday.
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Rockies Face Time Without Top-End Starter
Wednesday, April 27
The Rockies recalled right-hander Eddie Butler from Triple-A as a prospective replacement for De La Rosa in the rotation.
De La Rosa was pulled from Tuesday night’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates after running out a grounder to lead off the third inning.
The 35-year-old De La Rosa was 1-3 in five starts this season with a 10.18 ERA. His 23 earned runs was the most among all pitchers in the league, a dreadful start for the pitcher who was named the Rockies’ Opening Day starter.
Speaking with Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post, De La Rosa disclosed that this groin issue has been nagging him since his first start of the season, but Rockies manager Walt Weiss doesn’t believe that this is a “long-term problem.”
“I think it’s been an issue, but I don’t know when,” Weiss said. “He’s had a lot of nagging injuries over the years that kind of crop up from time to time. The groin is one of them, so it’s hard to say when exactly it started.”
The lack of longevity stymied De La Rosa’s growth in the league, as he could never develop into a staff ace. In his first 14 seasons in the league, he’s only pitched more than 150 innings three times.
What might have been more concerning for the Rockies was that De La Rosa admitted that his arm felt “lazy” after an April 19 start against the Cincinnati Reds, per Saunders. Weiss, though, said that the team doesn’t think he has any problems with his arm.
Butler, who is available to come out of the bullpen for Wednesday night’s game, will try to provide some relief to a Rockies team that is allowing the most runs per game in the majors with 6.2.
They’ll have to rely on Chad Bettis and Tyler Chatwood to carry the rotation toward the top and keep the Rockies in the thick of what looks to be a very competitive NL West division that features the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Francisco Giants.
Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com.
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