Helton possibly to red sox?

[twflawless]

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2745139

It's seems to make sense, move youk back to third, dump clement and tavarez, don't know about the prospects though...maybe delcarmen, i would not send them Hansen, way too much upside unless he is already scarred for life from last season.....

[chippered]

Re: Helton possibly to red sox?

I dont know. Helton's homers have decreased over the last few years, and he's not that great on the road. It would be interesting to see how he plays without any games in Coors.

This deal will likely give the Rockies plenty of salary flexability though, depending on how much of Heltons salary they have to pay.

[CWood2]

Re: Helton possibly to red sox?

Helton's power production was WAY down last year...maybe single digits in another city, which is absurd.

That said, I love to see Lowell's name and Tavarez thrown in there, but even mentioning Hansen has me worried, and Delcarmen doesn't excite me either. I'd rather see them move then Bucholz (BP has him as a top tier prospect) and Ellsbury for what he could bring to CF... but still. Maybe they think the asking price for Helton has hit rock bottom? Without a true closer, I'd have to think that they're hoping Hansen could be that guy in the second half of the season, so I doubt he'd be included. Delcarmen or a David Murphy type player I could see...but I'm not sure I like that either.

[Misfit]

Re: Helton possibly to red sox?

Right now the price is a little too high. Lowell and Tavarez are throw aways, two decent aging veterans with one year left on their contracts. Giving up both Delcarmen and Hansen and taking on 50 million of Helton's contract is pushing it. I could probably be sold on just one of those two going (and really, I like Delcarmen's poise and approach more than Hansen's right now so given the choice I would prefer to keep Delcarmen) as they are both unproven relief pitchers and the Sox have to give up something of value besides cash.

And just to stire the pot, over the past three seasons Helton has posted an .882 OPS away from Coors which isn't exactly terrible. Sure he hits better at home, most players do (especially Rockies players), but the guy has a great approach at the plate and really can hit anywhere. I see him as a John Olerud type but with better plate discipline. He's going to hit a bunch of double and get on base and chip in with an occassional homer. The Red Sox certainly gain offense by switching him with Lowell. The downside is that he's signed until he's 39, one of the worst contracts in recent memory.

[Thrasha]

Re: Helton possibly to red sox?

Right now the price is a little too high. Lowell and Tavarez are throw aways, two decent aging veterans with one year left on their contracts. Giving up both Delcarmen and Hansen and taking on 50 million of Helton's contract is pushing it. I could probably be sold on just one of those two going (and really, I like Delcarmen's poise and approach more than Hansen's right now so given the choice I would prefer to keep Delcarmen) as they are both unproven relief pitchers and the Sox have to give up something of value besides cash.

And just to stire the pot, over the past three seasons Helton has posted an .882 OPS away from Coors which isn't exactly terrible. Sure he hits better at home, most players do (especially Rockies players), but the guy has a great approach at the plate and really can hit anywhere. I see him as a John Olerud type but with better plate discipline. He's going to hit a bunch of double and get on base and chip in with an occassional homer. The Red Sox certainly gain offense by switching him with Lowell. The downside is that he's signed until he's 39, one of the worst contracts in recent memory.

I'm not really in love with the idea of seeing him in a Sox uniform, but with Clement probably being thrown in, and Schilling coming off the books next year, along with whatever portion (i imagine half) the Rockies chip in, it could almost be a wash. Manny will be gone in two years as well. Ya never know I guess is what I'm saying.

[nyisles16]

Re: Helton possibly to red sox?

deal appears dead.. Rox confirmerd that talks have ended...

[rsox]

Re: Helton possibly to red sox?

I'm not really upset that this trade will not happen, Helton WAS a good player but his numbers have dropped the last few years and i don't think his numbers in Boston would be any better than Lowell's. Asking for Delcarman and Hansen in the deal was a bit much on the Rockies part, asking for either or would have been a bit more reasonable. I would not have had a problem trading Delcarman but Hansen has too much of an upside to trade after just one season.

I like the quote from Monfort about how "This is Todd Helton we're talking about. We're not just going to give him up for nothing" and "This is not a trade we were anxious to complete"...that's why the Rockies tried to trade Helton to the Angels at the winter meetings and tried to trade him to the Dodgers last winter.
Despite what Monfort says the Rockies do want to dump Helton, they want nothing more than to be out from under his salary but they want the world in return for him. They may have been able to get that 3 years ago, but not now.

[SPTO]

Re: Helton possibly to red sox?

Rsox I dunno...Helton's power numbers have declined a bit but he still hits for a high average. Maybe not .330 anymore but he's about a .310-.315 hitter with 22 HRs and 80+ RBI these days.

Actually the more concerning thing is the steep drop off in his doubles so yeah...but I knew this deal wouldn't happen because the BoSox are way too stingy when it comes to their pitching prospects.

[GBrushTWood]

Re: Helton possibly to red sox?

I could see this getting done before the end of spring training. It should go without saying that Monfort is a buffoon of the highest order, given the public statements he has made about this trade (including player names from the Red Sox).

There's no question that the Rockies need to do this much more than Boston does. They need to move this Helton contract like the Rangers did with Alex Rodriguez. He is stifling their ability to compete with their puny $55M budget. I imagine Monfort and his apostles will come back to Boston with their tail between their legs and accept David Pauley or Kason Gabbard as the third player in this trade. When a team has no leverage in trade negotiations, it can't expect to obtain higher caliber prospects (the Bobby Abreu to New York trade is the best example of this). This is especially true when a hideous contract is trying to be dumped off.

Anybody know when Matt Holliday and Garret Atkins are arbitration eligible?

[Porschebenz2001]

Re: Helton possibly to red sox?

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/6422286

Trade's off according to the AP. I guess they couldn't agree on the prospects.

[Stu]

Re: Helton possibly to red sox?

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/6422286

Trade's off according to the AP. I guess they couldn't agree on the prospects.

There's still plenty of time. I still wouldn't be surprised to see this one get done before ST.

[BGarrett7]

Re: Helton possibly to red sox?

The LaRoche/Gonzalez trade died about ten times, I wouldn't say this one isn't happening just yet.

[WazzuRC]

Re: Helton possibly to red sox?

I know his numbers are a bit down but looking at last year while he had the knee problem, a lot of it was a stomach infection. So I really wouldn't judge last year's stats as a great indicator of his declining numbers. If I remember right, he sort of came on the last half of the season.