Jorge De La Rosa to begin throwing program Friday - MLB

Rockies left-hander Jorge De La Rosa underwent Tommy John reconstructive elbow surgery back in early June. He’s made good progress thus far and has managed to avoid setbacks, so the Rockies’ medical staff has cleared him to take a major step.

According to Jim Armstrong of the Denver Post, De La Rosa will begin a throwing program on September 23. He’ll be limited to light games of catch initially, but the 30-year-old southpaw should begin throwing bullpen sessions by the middle of winter and could be ready to appear in simulated games by the start of the 2012 regular season.

De La Rosa posted a 3.51 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 52/22 K/BB ratio in 19 starts this season before tearing his ulnar collateral ligament. If he returns in 2012, it won’t happen until the middle of the summer.

CINCINNATI — The Los Angeles Dodgers placed pitcher Noah Syndergaard on the 15-day injured list Thursday with a blister on the index finger of his right throwing hand.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said the timetable for Syndergaard’s return is unknown despite the 15-day designation.

“The physical, the mental, the emotional part, as he’s talked about, has taken a toll on him,” Roberts said. “So, the ability to get him away from this. He left today to go back to Los Angeles to kind of get back to normalcy.”

Syndergaard allowed six runs and seven hits in three innings against the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday night, raising his ERA to 7.16.

Syndergaard (1-4) has surrendered at least five runs in three straight starts.

Syndergaard has been trying to return to the player he was before Tommy John surgery sidelined him for the better part of the 2020 and 2021 seasons.

Roberts said Syndergaard will need at least “a few weeks” to both heal and get away from baseball and “reset.”

“I think searching and not being comfortable with where he was at in the moment is certainly evident in performance,” Roberts said. “So hopefully this time away will provide more clarity on who he is right now as a pitcher.

“Trying to perform when you’re searching at this level is extremely difficult. I applaud him from not running from it, but it’s still very difficult. Hopefully it can be a tale of two stories, two halves when he does come back.”