The Pittsburgh Pirates showed significant interest in 29 year old lefty Jorge De La Rosa but the team never stepped up to the plate and failed to even propose an offer, according to a source close to the situation.
De La Rosa is now close to signing a three year deal with the Colorado Rockies, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post. The deal will be worth $30 million over 3 years.
The deal will be official on Tuesday.
The Pirates, Nationals and Orioles were among the sleepers in the mix who De La Rosa’s camp believed at least one of them was willing to go beyond three years but that never came to fruition from either club.
The Pirates met with Bobby Barad, the agent for De La Rosa at the GM meetings in Orlando and there appears to be some surprise from De La Rosa’s reps that the Pirates didn’t propose an offer.
The Pirates have been one of the most active teams in “kicking the tires” in free agency.