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. On May 3, he hit a 12th-inning walkoff home run against John Halama, giving the Rangers a 2–1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. "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. On August 4, DeRosa hit his first career grand slam, coming against John Lackey in a 7–3 victory over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. 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. Chicago Cubs (2007–2008) On November 14, 2006, he signed a three-year, $13 million contract with the Chicago Cubs. DeRosa was one of several acquisitions by the Cubs in their off-season spending spree. 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. Despite this, he again played multiple positions, though he was in the lineup regularly and second base was his most frequent position. 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. In a career-high 149 games, DeRosa batted .293 with 147 hits, 10 home runs, and 72 RBI. Winners of the NL Central, the Cubs faced the Diamondbacks in the NLDS. Playing second base, DeRosa batted .333 with two runs scored in the series. However, the Cubs were swept by the Diamondbacks in three games. On February 23, 2008, DeRosa was hospitalized with breathing difficulties and a rapid heartbeat. 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