[EmpireWF]

It appears the Colorado Rockies are listening to proposals for their first baseman, Todd Helton. Helton has a full no-trade clause but has said he is considering Boston if a deal were made.

The Denver Post says trade talks will resume during the week once the Rockies GM returns from a family matter. Helton has 6-years and over $90 million left on his deal. The article notes the Rockies have asked about relief pitchers Manny Delcarmen and Craig Hansen in previous trade proposals.


If Boston can get Helton, look out, they're unstoppable. Period. No doubt about it. No games need to be played, etc., etc., etc.

[Lefty Noob]

The knock on Helton has always been, how well would he hit if he didn't play home games at Coors Field. I'm high on the guy personally, but I must admit, I too would be interested in finding the answer to that question. So bring on his trade to the Red Sox and let's watch the show!

[EmpireWF]

Latest reports say the Rockies would eat about half of the $91 million owed to Helton. The Red Sox are insisting on including SP Matt Clement and 3B Matt Lowell in the deal.

[ThePundit]

Why would the Red Sox want to tie up that kind of $ on Helton. They have plenty of offense, and Helton has not come close to putting up the numbers he did a few years ago, before MLB cracked down on steroids.

[MJHMarc]

A bit suspicious?

Helton would be decent in Boston, but I wouldn't name him an All Star.

[EmpireWF]

If Helton's healthy, he could be a superb bat for their line-up. He'd fit right in at #5 or #6 in the line-up depending on whether Francona keeps L/L back to back in the line-up.

[MJHMarc]

A trade in which the Rockies would send Todd Helton to the Red Sox hit another snag Sunday as the Rockies remained firm in their demand that one of the elite prospects in the Boston system be included. The Rockies gave the Red Sox a list that includes five prime prospects - centerfielder Jacob Ellsbury, and righthanded pitchers Daniel Bard, Manny Delcarmen, Craig Hansen and Clay Buchholz - and said one would have to be in the deal.
-- Rocky Mountain News

DENVER (AP) -- Colorado Rockies owner Charlie Monfort insists the team isn't looking to dump salary in its talks to trade Todd Helton to the Boston Red Sox.

Monfort said the Red Sox would have to part with pitching prospects in addition to third baseman Mike Lowell and reliever Julian Tavarez, players they've already offered in exchange for the 33-year-old slugger.

"This is Todd Helton we're talking about," Monfort told The Associated Press on Monday. "We're not just going to give him up for nothing."

The Rockies would like to obtain promising relievers Craig Hansen and Manny Delcarmen from Boston.

"Tavarez and Lowell are good, and they'll help us this season, but we need to get something else pretty good in return," Monfort said. "So, we'll see."

Colorado would pay a good chuck of the $90.1 million left on Helton's contract, Monfort said, a deal that includes salaries of $16.6 million in each of the next four seasons, $19.1 million in 2011 and a $4.6 million buyout of a $23 million team option for 2012. The amount the Rockies would pay isn't a sticking point in talks, Monfort said. Rather, it's the players Colorado covets in return for the Rockies' most recognizable player.

Helton has a no-trade clause but is willing to waive it to play in Boston.

Negotiations with Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein were expected to resume later Monday when general manager Dan O'Dowd returned to Denver after attending to a family matter over the weekend.

"I don't see it dragging on. If Dan and Theo can work out the bodies in the next couple of days, it will happen," said Monfort, who would need to sign off on the trade.

Monfort said he expected the deal to get done early in the week or not at all.

"I've been in this business for 15 years and 1 percent of these deals get done. We want to do right by Todd," Monfort said. "We're planning on winning the division and we'd rather do it with Todd."

Although the savings would allow the Rockies to address other areas, Monfort said he's not solely seeking financial flexibility in dangling Helton.

"We're not just looking to save money," he said. "I'd consider it a salary dump if we didn't have anybody there who could play first base, and we do. I'm not saying they're Todd Helton by any means. And they'd have some huge shoes to fill. But we have some guys there, a little bit of a logjam."

If Lowell comes over from Boston, third baseman Garrett Atkins could move to first, although an intriguing possibility is accelerating the arrival of 25-year-old Joe Koshansky, who hit .284 with 31 homers and 109 RBIs at Double-A Tulsa last season.

Monfort said he realizes fans don't want to see Helton and the Rockies part ways, and he doesn't relish that prospect, either.

"It would be so tough to see Todd go. We drafted him. He's a great guy, he has a ranch 15 minutes from my house," Monfort said. "This one is tough. We had Vinny Castilla and Andres Galarraga, but they weren't with us as long as Todd. And Todd's a friend of mine.

"We're not doing cartwheels over here at Coors Field over this, believe me."

Lowell will earn $9 million next season, the final year of his contract. Tavarez is guaranteed $3.1 million next season with a $3.85 million option for 2008 that is guaranteed if he makes 65 appearances.

After averaging 35 homers and 117 RBIs over the previous seven seasons, Helton's numbers dipped in 2005, when he hit .320 with 20 homers and 79 RBIs while he was playing with a bad back. He also made his first career trip to the disabled list with a strained calf.

An intestinal infection sent him to the DL again last May and he never regained his strength, weight or power stroke upon his return, finishing with just 15 homers, a .302 batting average and 81 RBIs.

Helton said recently he had finally gotten back to 210 pounds and that his strength and stamina had returned. The Red Sox were encouraged by his clean bill of health.

While Monfort said tying up 30 percent of the team's projected $55 million payroll this season isn't a good business model, he wouldn't mind seeing a healthy Helton batting cleanup for Colorado in 2007, either.

"We'd love to have Todd here and get to a World Series with Todd in a Rockies uniform and we believe we can get there," Monfort said. "It's not like a couple of years ago when we were just plugging holes. We feel we can win this division and that makes this a little more difficult.

"It seems like the days of someone playing their entire career for one team has gone by the wayside. I saw him retiring as a Rockie. It would be a great story. Some deals get made and some don't. No one is going to be with one team their whole career and not be mentioned in a trade once or twice."

Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Here's your update on this matter.

[Gotham Dark Knight]

Helton can hit away from the fabled ball park ...away from Coors he is still a .294 hitter with a .507 slugging percent and 110 homers ...despite his back problem...

At Coor though those numbers become .371, .676. and 176 homers...

Should Coors affect a players HOF voting?

[Lefty Noob]

ESPN is reporting that the Rockies have broken off talks. Shame, might've been fun watching Helton hit in Fenway.

[EmpireWF]

It's obvious they would like to get rid of Helton and at least some of his monies...but sounds like they wanted a top prospect or two in addition to eating salary. Perhaps Boston had problems with that.

[mervinout]

to the people who wonder how heltonw ill do outside coors. How did John olreud do outside coors. I think he is just like him. He is not going to keep his power numbers maybe he will in fenway its a nice hitting park. but he is still going to have a high batting average and rbis. Does anyone feel like basbeall is a bi polar world. The yankees are the americans and the red sox the russians, and the rest are the memebers of un pleading them to stop their massive arms race. This is a great deal for the sox and bad for the yanks since they will get him for like 9 mil a year with the rockies picking the rest up. How do you turn this deal down? even if the rockes want two pitchign prospects.