
SP Rubby De La Rosa:
Once a top Dodgers prospect, he’s gone from LA to Boston to Phoenix and never stuck. Rather than offer him a projected $3.2 million, the Backs cut him loose. Now a free agent, Rubby De La Rosa and his career 4.48 ERA can be had on the cheap.
Darren Balsley has a tendency of turning scrap heap pitchers into, at the very least, serviceable starters, and at best, potential aces (see Tyson Ross). De La Rosa has been quite homer prone out in the arid desert, so just pitching in Petco more often should alleviate that. He does get a lot of grounders for a guy with a HR issue though, with 0.95 GB/FB.
Like Ross, De La Rosa had arm issues in 2016, and is currently attempting to hold off a potential Tommy John surgery, but should he be successful in his endeavor, the Padres shouldn’t have a problem offering an incentive-laden deal.