The Rockies tried to get Jorge De La Rosa signed to an extension late this season, but that’s apparently not going to happen now and the team is resigned to the fact that he’s going to hit the market. They’re not sweating it, though:
“When players get this close to free agency, unless they are completely overwhelmed with an offer, they really want to see what the market will bear. That’s part of the process,” Rockies general manager Dan O’Dowd said. “We continue to have a strong desire to bring him back. The conversations have been great.”
It’s got to be a great year to be a free agent pitcher given how thin the market is. I mean, as a fallback option after De La Rosa, the Denver Post story mentions Jake Westbrook -- who most are assuming will stay in St. Louis -- and Javier Vazquez. If you’re De La Rosa’s agent, I bet your negotiation is pretty easy: “Here is what we want. If that’s not acceptable to you, here is Javier Vazquez’s phone number. Good luck with that.”
