In less than a month, all that pitching depth the Rockies built into their roster has evaporated into a shallow puddle of tears. Colorado on Wednesday lost presumptive No. 1 starter Jorge De La Rosa to the 15-day disabled list with a groin injury, and his replacement remains murky.
It’s the latest in a string of rotation reshufflings.
“We have to sort some things out in the next few days as the picture gets a little clearer,” manager Walt Weiss said.
The Rockies called up right-hander Eddie Butler to replace De La Rosa, but Butler will begin in the bullpen, in case a long reliever is needed.
Christian Bergman, the go-to long arm, is not available because he was called on too often in recent days. He replaced De La Rosa on Tuesday after the left-hander threw just three innings.
Jordan Lyles, who lasted just two innings Sunday, was demoted to Triple-A on Monday and replaced in the rotation by Colorado’s other long reliever, Chris Rusin, who will start Friday.
The Rockies also called up David Hale last week, then designated him for assignment. He’s now with the Baltimore Orioles system.
The most pressing pitching issue is regarding De La Rosa. He was removed Tuesday after hobbling toward first base after an at-bat. He had pitched poorly, giving up two home runs to Pittsburgh’s Andrew McCutchen in the first two innings.
De La Rosa, the Rockies’ opening-day starter, is 1-3 with a 10.18 ERA. He has pitched past the fifth inning only once.
When asked if his groin was responsible for poor performances this season, De La Rosa said, “No, it’s me.”
But a groin strain may not be his only problem. The velocity on De La Rosa’s pitches, across the board, is down as much as 3 mph.
The lefty said his arm felt “lazy,” and he hasn’t been able to finish pitches. But De La Rosa said he’s not suffering from so-called dead arm.
“The pitcher is the only one who knows that, because they can only feel it,” Weiss said. “There’s nothing to see in any kind of test.”
Weiss said he doesn’t consider De La Rosa’s injury to be a long-term problem, adding he expected the lefty to be ready to go after his 15-day stint on the DL.
Butler, 25, returns to the Rockies after posting a 4.09 ERA in four starts at Triple-A Albuquerque this season. He has pitched well in his last three starts, going six innings in each game, with a 3.00 ERA, 10 strikeouts and three walks.
“My first game, my balls were up in the zone,” Butler said. “But since then, I have been pitching smarter, staying down in the zone and getting ahead of batters. Those are the things you need to do to have success.”
Butler made his major-league debut June 6, 2014, at age 23. But over the past two seasons, he has bounced between the major leagues and Triple-A. He is a combined 4-11 with a 6.04 ERA in 19 starts with the Rockies.
If the Rockies can hold on until Sunday without using Butler in long relief, then he will start at Arizona against Shelby Miller.
“We’ll see how it plays out,” Butler said.
Injury updates. Right-handed pitcher Miguel Castro (shoulder inflammation) threw 25 pitches off flat ground Wednesday as part of his rehabilitation. “I was a little afraid about the injury at first,” he said, “but now that I have been throwing, and it’s been feeling better, I feel good.”
He is eligible to come off the disabled list Monday.
Center fielder Charlie Blackmon (turf toe) on Wednesday played the second game of a rehab assignment at Single-A Modesto. Weiss said he’s likely to join the Rockies in Arizona on Friday.
Right-handed reliever Jason Motte (shoulder strain) threw a bullpen session Tuesday at Salt River Fields in Arizona.
Nick Groke: ngroke@denverpost.com or @nickgroke
