Colorado Rockies: Tuesday’s Rumors and News Update

Some former members of the Colorado Rockies organization are making the news this week with some other Major League Baseball squads. We also take a look at some of the rumors swirling out there about one of Colorado’s pending free agents.

Jarrett Grube, who was drafted by the Rockies in the 10^th round of the 2004 amateur draft, has been invited to spring training with the Toronto Blue Jays after signing a contract.

Grube was in the Colorado organization through the 2009 season, reaching as high as Triple-A. He has since been a part of the Seattle Mariners, Los Angeles Angels and Cleveland Indians franchises. He has never pitched at the Major League level, compiling a 71-60 record and 4.33 ERA in 13 minor league campaigns. He’s also pitched portions of six seasons internationally.

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Meanwhile, the Minnesota Twins have hired former Rockies Michael Cuddyer and LaTroy Hawkins as special assistants in the team’s baseball operations department.

Cuddyer posted a .307 average in three seasons with the Rockies, earning an All-Star bid and Silver Slugger in 2013. That same season, he won the National League batting title with a .331 average.

Hawkins also spent three seasons in Denver, including Colorado’s World Series season of 2007. He bid farewell to the Rockies when he was sent to Toronto in part of the Troy Tulowitzki trade in 2015. At the age of 42, he once again appeared in the postseason, this time for the Blue Jays, appearing in three games.

Speaking of the Twins, could that be the next landing spot for Jorge De La Rosa? Colorado’s all-time winningest pitcher is a free agent and isn’t expected to fit into the Rockies’ plans for 2017. With a projected salary of $8 million for a season and a history of pitching well at Coors Field, teams seem willing to take a chance on the 35-year-old southpaw.

According to one theory out there, Minnesota could be one of several teams looking for a veteran pitcher to “eat some innings” and be able to turn things over to the bullpen. De La Rosa last pitched in the American League during the 2007 season with the Kansas City Royals. In all, he’s spent just two of his 13 Major League seasons in the AL.

Next: What Colorado's Free Agent Targets Might Cost the Team

Turning to the National League, the San Diego Padres are also said to benefit from having a veteran pitcher like De La Rosa in the rotation. Additionally, with Bartolo Colon leaving the New York Mets for the Atlanta Braves, the Mets could potentially look to add De La Rosa as a veteran presence.