SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Jorge De La Rosa, the Rockies’ No. 1 pitcher, is not likely to be ready for the start of the season.

“Other than playing catch right now, he’s pretty much shut down,” Rockies manager Walt Weiss said Tuesday.

Asked if De La Rosa will start the season on the disabled list, Weiss said: “It’s starting to look that way.”

De La Rosa has struggled with a strained left groin throughout spring training. He was pulled from his Friday start in the third inning after aggravating the injury.

He missed a Cactus League start early in spring training with a tight groin, then he re-injured the groin delivering a pitch on Friday.

Weiss described De La Rosa’s injury as “chronic.”

“He’s not throwing bullpens, he’s just playing catch,” Weiss said. “That’s gone ok. But we’re not going to put him on the mound for at least a few days anyway.”

The Rockies said last week that veteran right-hander Kyle Kendrick will start opening day April 6 at Milwaukee and De La Rosa would start the home opener April 10. Now it’s uncertain who will fill De La Rosa’s spot in the rotation.

An MRI Monday showed no major problems with De La Rosa’s groin.

“I don’t know when I’ll pitch again,” De La Rosa said Monday. He added that he wants to take his time returning. “I’m just concentrating on getting better.”

The Rockies are already looking for a starter to replace Jhoulys Chacin, whom the team cut on Sunday. Jon Gray, David Hale, Christian Bergman and Eddie Butler are in competition to take Chacin’s spot in the rotation. Tyler Matzek and Jordan Lyles are considered set for the rotation.

But Hale was bumped from his scheduled start Thursday because of a strained oblique, Weiss said. Hale is still in the mix of competition for the spot, but the Rockies will be cautious with his recovery, Weiss said.

An early off-day could allow Colorado to start the season with four starters until De La Rosa returns. If his injury lingers, however, there may be two open spots in the rotation.

“We’ve still got a little bit of time before we make a decision on the home-opener,” Weiss said. “When the time comes, when we run out of days, we’ll make that decision.”

Nick Groke: ngroke@denverpost.com or twitter.com/nickgroke