Troy Renck of the Denver Post had a Tweet tonight mentioning the Pittsburgh Pirates as a team who is believed to have interest in former Colorado Rockies’ starter Jorge de la Rosa.
Yanks interest in de la Rosa no surprise. They are in on everybody. Nats. Brewers Rangers pirates also believed to have interest.
Nothing concrete there, as he mentions the Pirates are “believed to have interest”, and as we know, that could just mean they’ve called to inquire on the price of de la Rosa. De La Rosa is a Type A free agent, which means he would cost the Pirates their second round pick in 2011 if signed. This is similar to the Adrian Beltre talks in that I don’t think the Pirates end up signing the player, regardless of their level of interest, simply because the player would probably choose one of the contending teams over the Pirates.
De La Rosa, who turns 30 in April, is believed to be seeking a four to five year deal. Ted Lilly signed a three year deal for $11 M a year earlier this off-season when he re-signed with the Dodgers. That could help set the market for De La Rosa, although he likely will see increased attention after Cliff Lee signs his deal. The only way I see the Pirates signing him is if no team is willing to give him a five year deal. Even then, the Pirates would have to go five years with at least $11 M a year, possibly more, and there’s no guarantee that the Pirates would be willing to commit that much to one player, especially since we don’t know the level of their interest.
Bottom line, don’t expect much from this. This is probably just a case where the Pirates have inquired on a guy’s price, but probably won’t be a player for his services due to all of the contending teams that will be in on the bidding.
