28-year old lefty starting pitcher Jorge De La Rosa is pitching his best baseball of his career right now. He has pitched in 26 games (25 starts) for the Royals this season and he is 12-9 with a 4.72 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. He’s making batters miss the ball this season as he’s trusting his stuff which has resulted in 152 whiffs in only 148 2/3 innings this season. He has now pitched in 54 games (48 starts) in his two years with the Rockies and he is 22-17 with a 4.81 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP for them. De La Rosa is one of the few pitchers in the history of the Rockies that improved his performance with them. Before coming to Colorado, De La Rosa pitched in 97 games (41 starts) in his major league career and he was 15-23 with a 5.85 ERA and a 1.74 WHIP. The Rockies need De La Rosa to keep up the good work the rest of the year as they are in a dogfight with the Giants for a playoff spot.

The Rockies have designated 27-year old righty swinging outfielder Matt Murton for assignment. Murton played in 22 games for the Rockies this season and he was 12 for 45 (.267 avg, .771 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 1 homer, 6 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Murton just can’t seem to find a break as he puts up decent numbers but teams are always getting rid of him.

The Rockies have signed 38-year old lefty swinging 1B Jason Giambi to a minor league deal. Giambi played in 83 games for the A’s this season and he was 52 for 269 (.193 avg, .697 OPS) with 39 runs scored, 11 homers and 40 RBIs. Giambi has now played in 1,933 games in his major league career and he is 1,864 for 6,601 (.282 avg, .932 OPS) with 1,155 runs scored, 407 homers, 1,319 RBIs and 18 stolen bases. This was a good signing for the Rockies as Giambi will give them power off the bench in September when rosters expand.

The Rockies have signed 35-year old righty starting pitcher Russ Ortiz to a minor league deal. Ortiz has pitched in 23 games (13 starts) for the Astros this season and he was 3-6 with a 5.57 ERA and a 1.67 WHIP. Ortiz has now pitched in 305 games (266 starts) in his major league career and he is 113-88 with a 4.48 ERA and a 1.49 WHIP. Ortiz is a virtual lock to be called up by the Rockies when rosters expand on September 1st if not before.

The Rockies have signed 28-year old lefty swinging outfielder Paul McAnulty. McAnulty has played in 90 games in AAA-ball this season and he is 76 for 326 (.233 avg, .733 OPS) with 36 runs scored, 11 homers and 48 RBIs. He has also played in 124 games in his major league career in which he is 44 for 212 (.208 avg, .654 OPS) with 21 runs scored, 5 homers, 21 RBIs and 1 stolen base. It never hurts to sign a player like McAnulty to give the Rockies depth in the minors.