De La Rosa pushes for starting spot
Left-hander is impressive in Mexican Winter League
By Adam McCalvy / MLB.com
MILWAUKEE -- Brewers general manager Doug Melvin likes what he is hearing out of the Mexican Winter League.
Melvin has been working with player agent Bobby Bennett toward a 2005 contract for arbitration-eligible outfielder Brady Clark, while Bennett had been in Mexico visiting another client, Oakland's Dan Johnson. Johnson is playing this winter for the Hermosillo Orange Growers along with Brewers left-hander Jorge De Le Rosa.
"He said De La Rosa has been lights out in his last few starts," Melvin said. "He struggled early on but it looks like [De La Rosa] has really come on."
That's a good thing for the 23-year-old De La Rosa, who was acquired in last winter's Richie Sexson trade and will have to win a spot on the Brewers' roster in Spring Training.
"We're still looking at him as a starter," Melvin said. "At the back end of the rotation, you probably want a young guy who you're looking at for the future."
The Brewers have plenty of candidates to win that spot. Ben Sheets and Doug Davis are the clear choices for the Nos. 1-2 starting spots, and 11-game winner Victor Santos, despite a drop off in the second half of 2004, has the inside track for the third spot. That leaves two openings for some pretty well-known names among Brewers fans, including De La Rosa, Chris Capuano, Ben Hendrickson, Jose Capellan and Wes Obermueller. Some lesser-known names may also get a shot, including Gary Glover, Sam Narron and
non-roster invitee Julio Santana.
"None of them are experienced enough to say, 'Here you go,'" Melvin said. "We'll have to take a look [in Spring Training] at where they fit on the ballclub."
De La Rosa is out of minor league options, and the Brewers know they would lose him to another club if they expose him to waivers. If he does not make the rotation, the team would likely assign De La Rosa to the bullpen.
Partly because he knew De La Rosa would take one spot, Melvin took a pass in last month's Rule 5 Draft. Last year, the Brewers got use out of Rule 5 pick Jeff Bennett, a right-handed reliever.
"This year, we didn't want to burden the staff with a Rule 5 guy and a guy who's out of options."
According to one account, De La Rosa left a recent start with a "minor leg injury," but Melvin said he did not receive any reports. In a 12-2 Hermosillo win, De La Rosa pitched six strong innings and limited Mexicali to one run (on a solo home run) while walking only one batter.
In 2004, De La Rosa made five starts for the Brewers and went 0-3 with a 6.35 ERA in those games. He showed improvement in each start but often struggled with control, walking 14 batters versus five strikeouts.
Dark horse? Melvin has also received positive reports about Santana, a right-hander who signed a minor league contract on Dec. 22. In his first 18 2/3 innings in the Dominican Winter League, Santana had limited opponents to 11 hits while striking out 29 without walking a single batter
Santana, who turns 32 on Jan. 20, spent most of the 2003 season and all of the 2004 season playing for the Yomiuri Giants in the Japanese Leagues. He has pitched in the Majors for Texas, Tampa Bay, Montreal and Detroit.
"We had interest in him before he went to Japan," Melvin said.
Santana was a winter teammate of Capellan, who has shut down to rest up for Spring Training.
Possible return? Still unsettled at third base, the Brewers may be mulling an offer to former star Jeff Cirillo.
Frank Kremblas, who was recently promoted to manage the Brewers' Triple-A affiliate, is on the coaching staff at Mochis in the Mexican League and has had conversations with Melvin about Cirillo. Now 35 and coming off three sub-par seasons, Cirillo batted .312 with 19 runs scored, 12 RBIs and a .453 on-base percentage in his first 26 games.
"His name has come up," Melvin said. "We haven't made a decision on him."
Cirillo was the Brewers' best hitter from 1997-1999, but was packaged in a multi-team trade with the Rockies and A's. He had two good years with the Rockies but fell off dramatically after moving to his hometown Mariners in 2002. The Brewers would likely not offer more than a minor league contract with a Spring Training invitation.
Still pitching: Some other former Brewers are enjoying semi-retirement in their native nations. Teddy Higuera pitched in five games including one start in the Mexican League and Jamie Navarro had a 4.42 ERA in his first 10 starts, including one complete-game shutout, in Puerto Rico.
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