Rockies De La Rosa Out For Season

Added on May 25, 2011 by Scott in

MLB

The Colorado Rockies pitching staff was dealt a severe blow today when it was announced ace left-hander Jorge De La Rosa will miss the remainder of the 2011 season with a torn ligament in his left elbow. De La Rosa was removed in the third inning of last night’s 5-2 loss to the Diamondbacks after experiencing tightness and pain. A MRI later revealed his ulnar collateral ligament was completely torn.

De La Rosa will need Tommy John surgery to repair the damage. A recovery timetable of one-year has been set. First baseman Jason Giambi summed up the team’s disappoint upon hearing the news.

“It’s devastating,” Jason Giambi said. “He was having a phenomenal year for us, too. I feel terrible for the kid. He was really putting it together. That happens in baseball and now we’ve got to pull together.”

De La Rosa was easily Colorado’s most consistent starter, posting a 5-2 record with a 3.51 ERA in ten starts. He had also fanned 52 batters in 59 total innings. The 30-year-old has accumulated a 39-26 record in four seasons with the Rockies.

Manager Jim Tracy will be forced to shuffle the rest of his rotation to account for the void left by De La Rosa’s departure. Jhoulys Chacin instantly becomes the number one starter; Chacin is 5-3 with a team best 3.09 ERA. The team is still waiting for Ubaldo Jimenez to turn things around; he is winless in eight starts with a 5.44 ERA.

One possible replacement for De La Rosa is Aaron Cook, who has yet to pitch in 2011 due to a broken finger. He is scheduled to rejoin the club at the end of the month after rehabbing in the minors. Cook has spent his entire nine-year career in Colorado and was stellar in 2008 and 2009, going 27-15 in 59 outings. However, a spotty 2010 and lingering health problems make Cook a question mark.

The Rockies trail NL West-leading Giants by three games. Without De La Rosa, the odds of reaching the playoffs just got longer.

Source: ESPN.com