Rockies 1B Todd Helton was the subject of several trade rumors over the off-season. The Rox wound up hanging onto Helton and are hoping for him to return to his 49HR form of '01, or at least something better than his 15HR output last year. So far, Todd's not exactly on the return to glory track, spending more time in the trainer's room than the field.
Helton worked out with a sizable contingent of Rockies not taking the two-hour trip to Peoria, Ariz., to play the Mariners on Friday. [Helton] missed a scheduled appearance on Thursday because of inflammation in his right knee...Hurdle has said since the end of last season that he expects to give Helton more rest than the veteran is accustomed to
Yeesh, Helton's only 33 and Hurdle's already talking about giving him more time off during the season? Even if Todd told the Denver Post he thinks he could have played if he had to, it's not a good sign to see your marquee player missing games in spring training with a bad knee. I'm certainly not touching Helton on my fantasy team, and I think it's safe to say his days of being an All-Star are numbered.
