Atlanta Braves (1998–2004) Brief callups (1998–2000) DeRosa made his professional debut in 1996 with the
Eugene Emeralds of the
Class A short season
Northwest League. Progressing through Atlanta's minor league system, he joined the Braves for the first time as a
September callup in 1998. He made his MLB debut on September 2,
pinch-hitting for
Greg Maddux and
striking out against
Randy Johnson in a 4–1 loss to the
Houston Astros. On September 20, he had his first MLB
hit, a pinch-hit
single against
Vladimir Núñez in a 10–0 win over the
Arizona Diamondbacks. He appeared in five games for the Braves in 1998, serving as a shortstop, pinch hitter, and
pinch runner. He was called up again on May 5, 2000, when Weiss was again placed on the DL. On May 14, he recorded his only three RBI of the season with a pinch-hit, bases-loaded
double against
Trever Miller in an 11–2 win over the
Philadelphia Phillies. After appearing in five games, he was sent back to Richmond on May 21 when Weiss returned from the DL. He was with Atlanta again from June 13 through 29 while
Rafael Furcal was on the DL, then was called up for the remainder of the season in September. In 22 games (13
at bats) for Atlanta in 2000, he batted .308 with nine
runs scored and four hits. He filled in for Furcal for 10 games, batting .300 while Atlanta's starting shortstop recovered from a minor injury. DeRosa hit well, batting .342 with 14 RBIs, but defensively he committed five
errors. Wanting a better defender with more experience, the Braves acquired
Rey Sánchez to be their starting shortstop at the July 31
trade deadline. However, DeRosa started a few more games at shortstop that August when Sánchez was recovering from a left hamstring injury. In 66 games (164 at bats), DeRosa batted .287 with 47 hits, three home runs, and 24 RBI. He had a single against
Mike Williams Game 1 of the
NL Division Series (NLDS), his only appearance of the series as the Braves swept the Astros in three games. In four games (four at bats) in the
NL Championship Series (NLCS), he was hitless as the Braves were defeated by Arizona in five games. In 72 games (212 at bats), he batted .297 with 63 hits, five home runs, and 23 RBI. Starting at second base in Game 2 of the
NLDS against the
San Francisco Giants, he had two hits and two RBI in a 7–3 victory. His pinch-hit RBI single against
Aaron Fultz in Game 5 provided the only Atlanta run in a 3–1 defeat that eliminated the Braves from the playoffs. Healthy all year in 2003, DeRosa again played a number of positions: every
infield spot, as well as left field and
designated hitter. Of his six home runs, four came in back-to-back games: May 28 and 30 against the
Cincinnati Reds and
New York Mets, and September 8 and 9 against Philadelphia. In the September 8 game, he started the scoring for the Braves with a two-run home run in the first inning, then scored the go-ahead run in the fifth inning of a 6–4 win over the Phillies. In 103 games (266 at bats), he batted .263 with 70 hits, six home runs, and 22 RBI. Starting at second base in Game 2 of the
NLDS in place of
Marcus Giles, who was recovering from a left leg bruise, DeRosa had an eighth-inning, two-RBI double against
Dave Veres, driving in the go-ahead runs in a 5–3 victory over the
Chicago Cubs. He pinch hit in three other games in the series, but the Cubs defeated the Braves in five games. On May 2, he committed four errors, tying a team record amidst a 13–4 loss to the Rockies. DeRosa said later that the poor defensive performance distracted him from his hitting for about a week. "It was terrible," DeRosa said of his performance. His season came to an end on September 25, when he tore his right
anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). In 118 games (309 at bats), he batted .239 with 74 hits, three home runs, and 31 RBI. After the season, the Braves declined to offer DeRosa a contract for 2005, making him a
free agent. The last member of the Opening Day roster to appear in a game, not making his Ranger debut until the 11th game of the season, DeRosa played only six games a month in April, May, and July, though he appeared in 12 games in June. In August and September, he saw more action in right field, as
Richard Hidalgo was battling a left wrist injury. In 66 games (148 at bats), he batted .243 with 36 hits and 20 RBI. Despite appearing in his fewest games since 2001, his eight home runs represented a new career high. After playing only two of the Rangers' first 11 games in 2006, DeRosa was on the disabled list from April 15 to 30 with a sprained left foot. With starting second baseman
Ian Kinsler injured and fill-in
D'Angelo Jiménez batting .208, DeRosa took over the position upon his return. He responded to the increased playing time by hitting .343, leading the Rangers in hitting in the first half of the season. "He means a lot to our team," said manager
Buck Showalter. Once Kinsler became healthy, DeRosa returned to being a utility player, but he remained a regular in Texas's lineup, even though his position changed frequently. Though his average fell to .296 by season's end, he was still one of Texas's best players in 2006. He set career highs with 136 games played, 40
doubles, 13 home runs, and 74 RBI. After the season, he became a free agent. Though the Rangers had been interested in retaining him, Chicago offered DeRosa the chance to start regularly at second base, an option that he preferred. On June 3, he hit a grand slam against
Lance Cormier to open the scoring in a 10–1 victory over the Braves. Against the Reds on August 16 and September 17, he had a career-high five hits. Playing second base, DeRosa batted .333 with two runs scored in the series. On February 28, he had a successful
catheter ablation at
Northwestern Memorial Hospital to correct an
irregular heartbeat, a problem which had plagued him since high school. His heart procedure earned him the nickname of "the Pulse", which also became the name of his blog on the Cubs' website. On June 30, he hit a two-run home run against
Barry Zito and a grand slam against
Billy Sadler as the Cubs defeated the Giants 9–2. After having three RBI against the Astros on August 4, he hit a grand slam and recorded five RBI against them on August 5 in an 11–4 victory. He hit home runs in four consecutive games from August 20 through 23, becoming the first Cub to do so since
Fred McGriff in 2001. Playing 149 games for the second year in a row, he batted .285 with 143 hits, setting career highs in runs with 103, home runs with 21, and RBI with 87. DeRosa's two-run home run against
Derek Lowe in Game 1 of the
NLDS opened the scoring but wound up providing the only Cubs runs in a 7–2 loss to the
Los Angeles Dodgers. He had two hits and two RBI in Game 2 but also committed an error that contributed to a five-run second inning by the Dodgers as they defeated Chicago 10–3. DeRosa hit .333 in the series, but the Cubs were swept by Los Angeles in three games, a loss that DeRosa found more disappointing than the previous year's. Though third base would be his primary position for the Indians, he also spent time at first base and in the outfield. On April 18, he had six RBI in a 22–4 victory over the Yankees. From June 14 through June 16, he hit home runs in three consecutive games. On June 27, DeRosa was traded to the Cardinals for relief pitchers
Chris Perez and
Jess Todd. In 71 games (278 at bats), he was batting .270 with 75 hits, 13 home runs, and 50 RBI. In 68 games (237 at bats), he batted .228 with 54 hits, 10 home runs, and 28 RBI. Defensively, he committed no errors as a Cardinal. In Game 1, DeRosa had three hits, including an RBI double, but the Cardinals lost 5–3. He had two hits in Game 2 and scored a run that put the Cardinals ahead in seventh, but they ultimately lost 3–2 following an error by
Matt Holliday. For the second year in a row, DeRosa's team was swept by the Dodgers in the NLDS. He also became a free agent. At the beginning of the 2010 season, DeRosa went into a prolonged slump. He batted only .194 in his first 26 games, with just four extra base hits and 10 RBI. Experiencing numbness in the fingers of his left hand, he underwent a medical examination on May 11 and found that the wrist surgery in 2009 had been a "failure". He rested it a few days to see if it would improve but was placed on the disabled list on May 17, having not played since May 8. On July 1, he underwent season-ending surgery, a procedure that again sought to repair his tendon sheath, as well as releasing pressure on his
carpal tunnel. Though DeRosa suffered from mild
tendinitis in his left wrist during spring training, he began the 2011 season on the Giants' roster, though just as a reserve player. He was on the disabled list from April 28 to May 10 with wrist soreness. DeRosa instead reworked his swing to become more of a singles hitter and returned to the Giants on August 4. He was used mostly as a pinch hitter for the remainder of the season. Now 37 years old, he started at several positions for the Nationals in April 2012 but batted .081 in 13 games. On April 29, DeRosa was placed on the disabled list with a left oblique strain, an injury that kept him inactive until June 25. In 48 games (85 at bats), he batted .188 with 16 hits, no home runs, and six RBI. However, he travelled with the team during the postseason, even reading his teammates the "
Man in the Arena" portion of a
Theodore Roosevelt speech to inspire them before Game 4 of the
NLDS. Against the Astros on July 27, DeRosa hit his 100th career home run, a solo shot to lead off the second inning against
Dallas Keuchel in an 8–6 loss. In August, DeRosa was placed on revocable
waivers and claimed by an unnamed team on August 7, but no trade occurred, and he remained with Toronto. In 88 games, DeRosa hit .235 with seven home runs and 36 RBI, including hitting .286 with one home run, eight RBI, and seven walks as a pinch hitter. The Blue Jays exercised their option on DeRosa in late October, but on November 12, DeRosa informed the team that he would retire after 16 years in MLB. ==International career==