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The Diamondbacks have signed reliever Jorge De La Rosa to a minor-league deal, according to AZCentral's Nick Piecoro:
Jorge De La Rosa just appeared in the Dbacks clubhouse. Looks like they’ve signed him back.
— Nick Piecoro (@nickpiecoro) February 16, 2018
De La Rosa, 36, spent most of his first 13 big-league seasons as a starting pitcher, but converted to a primary relief role in 2017 with Arizona. In 65 appearances out of the bullpen for the Diamondbacks, the left-hander recorded a 4.21 ERA (114 ERA+) and 1.305 WHIP despite an uninspiring 7.9 K/9. De La Rosa was most effective facing left-handed batters, who slashed just .192/.253/.292 against the lefty.
Competition for the final spots in Arizona's bullpen is wide open as Spring Training begins. Arizona has found their lefty specialist in Andrew Chafin, but De La Rosa still has a chance to prove he's more valuable to the big league club than fellow left-handers T.J. McFarland and Jared Miller.
2018 will mark De La Rosa's fourteenth season in the MLB, should he make the club out of Spring Training; the veteran has amassed 1466.2 innings and 1226 strikeouts over his 13-year career. A Monterrey, Mexico native, De La Rosa was one of just 17 Mexicans to appear in the Major Leagues in 2017.