He was then drafted by the New York Yankees in the 24th round of the 2002 amateur draft and began his professional career the following season. He played for the GCL Yankees in 2003, going 0–0 with a 3.00 ERA in five games, striking out 12 and allowing only five hits in nine innings. In 2004, he pitched for the GCL Yankees and Staten Island Yankees, going a combined 2–0 with a 2.75 ERA in 15 games. Despite posting a sub-3.00 ERA, he was released by the Yankees after the 2004 season.
In 2007, De La Rosa began the season with the Golden Baseball League's Long Beach Armada, serving as the team's closer and going 2–4 with a 3.69 ERA and 16 saves in 39 appearances.
He was signed by the Milwaukee Brewers in September of that year and appeared in one game for the Helena Brewers. Overall, he went a combined 2–4 with a 3.54 ERA in 40 games in 2007, striking out 56 batters in 48 1/3 innings.
De La Rosa was back in independent baseball in 2008, pitching for the Golden Baseball League's Orange County Flyers and going 2–2 with a 4.41 ERA in 32 appearances, saving 14 games and striking out 40 in 34 2/3 innings.
In 2009, he pitched for three teams, the El Paso Diablos of the independent American Association, the Victoria Seals of the Golden Baseball League and the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs of the independent Atlantic League. He went 2–5 with a 5.25 ERA in 33 games that year, striking out 69 batters in 60 innings.
He signed with the Tampa Bay Rays for the 2010 season, pitching for the Charlotte Stone Crabs and Montgomery Biscuits. He went a combined 9–3 with a 2.01 ERA in 49 relief appearances, striking out 80 batters in 76 innings. He spent most of 2011 in the minor leagues, pitching for the Triple-A Durham Bulls, going 6-5 with a 3.20 ERA in 52 relief appearances and striking out 83 batters in 70.1 innings. He was promoted to the major leagues partway through the season and made his big league debut on July 20. He pitched in seven big league games that year, posting a 9.82 ERA with eight strikeouts in 7.1 innings. De La Rosa spent the majority of 2012 in the minor leagues as well, with a major leaguecup of coffee during the season. He pitched in 54 games for the Bulls, going 0-4 with 87 strikeouts, 20 saves and a 2.79 ERA in 67.2 innings. At the major league level, he had a 12.60 ERA in five games for the Rays.
On January 26, 2015, De La Rosa signed a minor league deal with the Orioles. During his time with the Orioles he pitched for their AAA affiliate the Norfolk Tides, where he pitched 10.1 innings, compiling a 4.35 ERA with 7 strikeouts.
Retirement
On June 26, 2015, De La Rosa announced his retirement from baseball after four seasons.
