Rubby De La Rosa was non-tendered by the Arizona Diamondbacks earlier in the winter. Now he’s back, but for much less of a price.
One of the more surprising non-tenders of the MLB offseason was the Arizona Diamondbacks decision to not tender a contract to their power right-handed pitcher, Rubby De La Rosa.
At just 27 years old, De La Rosa has appeared in 89 games since he made his major league debut in 2011. While his production has been nothing more than average, his pitching arsenal and potential made the Diamondbacks’ decision to supposedly let him walk rather surprising.
However, it was reported by Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic that the Diamondbacks came to an agreement with De La Rosa on a minor league deal for the 2017 season.
This is an interesting development because if the team had tendered him a contract, MLB Trade Rumors projected that he would take on a salary of $3 million for this coming year. Now De La Rosa is not even guaranteed a major league deal. However, if he does crack the Diamondbacks’ 25-man roster this season, he will be set to make $750,000.
With the Diamondbacks’ notable lack of bullpen depth, I am under the impression that De La Rosa will push his way into a major league relief role at some point during the regular season. In 13 appearances in 2016, De La Rosa averaged over a strikeout per inning. This is above his solid career strikeout rate of 7.5 K/9. His walk and home run numbers are a bit of a concern, but De La Rosa certainly has the capability to produce much better statistics moving forward.
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According to Fangraphs, De La Rosa averaged a fastball close to 95 mph, but he can work in the upper 90s, especially if he primarily works out of the bullpen, which is something he hasn’t done thus far. He’s started in 70 games that he’s appeared in, but his power pitching arsenal and lack of a decent third pitch may make him more of a reliever. He also struggles against lefties (career .286/.363/.489 vs. LHH), which could be more easily worked around if he tossed fewer innings per appearance. All of these factors are in addition to some of the arm troubles that he’s had over the years.
He did post a ground ball rate of above 50 percent , the highest of his career, and his batting average on balls in play (BABIP) was a career-low of .257 as well.
I expect that a shift to a full relief role will help De La Rosa become more consistent and keep him fresher, which should help his control. Even so, a lack of control is much less concerning coming out of the bullpen as opposed to starting a game.
There is no question that De La Rosa has the stuff to be a quality reliever for the Diamondbacks, and even though he signed a minor league deal this offseason, the 27-year-old will probably still find a role on the major league ball club because of his potential.
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Do you think De La Rosa cracks the Diamondbacks’ Opening Day roster? Let us know in the comments below.