De La Rosa agreed to a minor-league contract with the Rockies in April, but he failed to make a minor-league appearance prior to his release due to an oblique injury. The 38-year-old has been playing professional ball since the 2004 season and may consider hanging it up if he fails to draw interest while on the open market.

Since he didn't put pen to paper on a minor-league deal with the Rockies until early April, De La Rosa missed all of spring training and was never assigned to an affiliate when the season began. He reported to extended spring training shortly after signing but soon developed the oblique problem, delaying his debut even further. As of last week, De La Rosa had resumed throwing bullpen sessions, so it shouldn't be long before he reports to a lower-level affiliate for a rehab assignment. Once deemed fully healthy, De La Rosa will likely be ticketed for a spot in the Triple-A Albuquerque bullpen.

De La Rosa made 59 appearances during stops with the Cubs and Diamondbacks a season ago and posted a 3.38 ERA with 47 punchouts over 56 innings. He'll provide the Rockies with bullpen depth and should join Triple-A Albuquerque within the next few days.

It was actually the first save of the veteran left-hander's career, coming in his 426th career appearance. Even with Pedro Strop (hamstring) sidelined and Brandon Morrow (biceps) not yet ready to return to the bullpen, De La Rosa isn't likely to remain in the closing mix for the Cubs given his 3.63 ERA and 1.40 WHIP across 52 innings in 2018, but manager Joe Maddon has made stranger decisions.