Former Red Sox prospect Rubby De La Rosa is going back to where it all began, signing a minor league contract with the Dodgers on Friday, according to MiLB.com’s transactions page.
De La Rosa, who signed with the Dodgers as an international free agent in 2007, was involved in the famous 2012 blockbuster trade that sent Josh Beckett, Adrián González, Carl Crawford and Nick Punto from Boston to Los Angeles, ultimately giving the Red Sox financial flexibility to make subsequent moves that culminated with a 2013 World Series title.
De La Rosa was a highly touted pitching prospect at the time. So, too, was Allen Webster, another hard-throwing right-hander the Red Sox acquired in the Dodgers deal. But neither made an impact with Boston at the major league level. Instead, the Red Sox’s main benefit from the trade, as mentioned, was the money they saved, as the newfound breathing room allowed Boston to sign a host of free agents during the ensuing offseason, including Koji Uehara, Shane Victorino, Mike Napoli, Jonny Gomes, David Ross and Stephen Drew.
The Red Sox traded De La Rosa, a Dominican Republic native who worked with Pedro Martinez during his time in Boston, to the Arizona Diamondbacks, along with Webster, for Wade Miley before the 2015 season. De La Rosa made a career-high 32 starts for the Snakes in 2015, going 14-9 with a 4.67 ERA across 188 2/3 innings. But a series of elbow injuries, which resulted in a second Tommy John surgery, more or less derailed his MLB career. He hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2017, instead spending the last four seasons with the Yomiuri Giants of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball.
De La Rosa will turn 34 in March. Essentially, this is a dart throw by the Dodgers, presumably in the hopes he can provide adequate organizational depth or, more optimistically, make good on the promise he flashed in the LA system more than a decade ago. He’s been assigned to Triple-A Oklahoma City with spring training right around the corner.
What an interesting twist of fate.
