SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Jorge De La Rosa, the Rockies’ No. 1 pitcher, is still feeling tightness in his left groin and will miss his scheduled Cactus League start Thursday.
“It’s still feeling a little tight, so I won’t be pitching until next week,” the left-hander said Tuesday morning. “It’s not a big deal, but we are being cautious.”
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The concern is that pushing his start back another week could jeopardize De La Rosa being ready for the regular season. Manager Walt Weiss, however, said that he is not worried about that. At least not yet.
“We feel like we still have enough time to get him back on track and get him built up,” Weiss said, referring to the innings De La Rosa will need in order to make his first start. “He actually came into camp pretty built up, relatively speaking. We are still at a point of time where he will be OK.”
De La Rosa , 33, is the only member of the expected starting rotation who has not pitched in a spring game yet. He is scheduled to throw a light bullpen session either Tuesday or Wednesday.
De La Rosa, who went 14-11 with a 4.10 ERA last season, is penciled in as the starting pitcher for either the Rockies’ season opener on April 6 in Milwaukee or the home opener against the Cubs on April 10. Weiss said he has not made a decision on the opening-day starter yet.
De La Rosa, who’s won more games at Coors Field than any pitcher in franchise history, signed a two-year, $25 million contract extension in September.
In other news, shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, who made his Cactus League debut on Monday, was not in the lineup for either of the Rockies’ games Tuesday (it’s a split-squad day, with one team playing at the Dodgers and the other hosting the Mariners). Tulo said his surgically repaired left hip is feeling fine, but Weiss made the decision not to play him.
“He actually felt really good today, but I made a decision to hold him out,” Weiss said. “He will probably be back out there tomorrow.
Patrick Saunders: psaunders@denverpost.com or
