Rockies ace Jorge De La Rosa will miss another start in the rotation while he recovers from a strained groin. The left-hander will instead start Tuesday for Triple-A Albuquerque.
“They want to make sure I’m good,” De La Rosa said. “I didn’t pitch very much in spring.”
The Rockies hoped De La Rosa would be ready to start Tuesday at San Francisco, the first time the rotation needs a fifth starter.
Instead, Christian Bergman, who pitched one inning of relief Friday in the Rockies’ 5-1 victory over the Cubs, will replace De La Rosa on Tuesday.
De La Rosa will be on a five-inning or 75-pitch limit for Albuquerque Tuesday against the Tacoma Rainiers. His turn in the Rockies rotation doesn’t come back around until April 20 against the Padres in Colorado.
“We could bring him back, but he’s not quite built up enough yet,” Rockies manager Walt Weiss said. “We want to give him more time to build up some confidence in the groin.”
in their season-opener, allowing one run on four hits. He struck out three and walked two. Jon Gray, Colorado’s top pitching prospect, for six runs.
Bergman made the Rockies’ opening day roster as a long-relief option and as insurance in case De La Rosa wasn’t ready. It was the first time in his career he broke camp on a big-league roster.
