Ex-Red Sox Pitcher Officially Signs With Dodgers As He Attempts Big League Return

One former Red Sox hurler is attempting an MLB comeback

The Los Angeles Dodgers are continuing to make moves. 

Los Angeles officially signed former Dodgers, Boston Red Sox, and Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Rubby De La Rosa to a minor-league deal Friday, according to the MiLB Transaction Log. 

De La Rosa was signed by the Dodgers as an international free agent in 2007 and began his professional baseball career with the club's Dominican Summer League. The right-handed pitcher spent two seasons in the Dominican Summer League and worked his way up Los Angeles' farm system and made his Major League Baseball debut in 2011. 

The Red Sox acquired De La Rosa ahead of the 2013 season to complete the team's trade involving Josh Beckett, Adrian Gonzalez, and Carl Crawford and he spent parts of two seasons with the club. De La Rosa made 30 appearances for Boston between the 2013 and 2014 seasons and made 18 starts. The hurler compiled a 4.54 ERA and 4-10 record while striking out 80 batters. 

Boston traded De La Rosa to the Diamondbacks in a deal centered around Wade Miley and he was with the club until 2017. De La Rosa has been pitching in the Nippon Professional Baseball league since 2019 for the Yomiuri Giants. While in Japan, De La Rosa actually was teammates with fellow Red Sox pitcher Hirokazu Sawamura with Yomiuri. 

De La Rosa is attempted an MLB comeback and will take the field with the Triple-A Oklahoma City Dodgers to start the 2023 campaign. While it's likely De La Rosa won't impact the Dodgers' big league roster much, having an extra MLB veteran laying around in the minor leagues as a depth piece never hurt anyone. 

The 33-year-old has a 4.49 ERA across his seven-year MLB career and shined even brighter in Japan. In four seasons with Yomiuri, De La Rosa compiled a 2.53 ERA across 137 appearances while striking out 118. 

If he's able to carry over his play to the minor leagues for the Dodgers, maybe we will see De La Rosa out of the Los Angeles bullpen at some point in 2023. 

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