DENVER (AP) -The Colorado Rockies placed first baseman Todd Helton on the 15-day DL with a sore back on Friday and recalled Joe Koshansky from Triple-A Colorado Springs.
Helton, a career .332 hitter coming into 2008, is hitting .266 with seven home runs and 29 RBIs. Over his past 22 games Helton is hitting .182 (14-for-77) and was moved from the cleanup spot to hitting second in the lineup.
The 34-year-old Helton sat out Thursday’s game against Florida, and Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said his back felt worse Friday.
“He feels probably more discomfort today than yesterday,” Hurdle said. “We feel we’re best served by shutting this thing down for a while and give him a chance to heal rather than pushing his way through this one. I don’t think he’s capable of pushing his way through this one.”
This is the third trip to the DL in Helton’s 11-year career and his first since 2006. In his first 10 full seasons in the major leagues, Helton has played an average of 154 games and has never missed more than 18 games in any one season.
Koshansky is hitting .281 with 18 home runs and 78 RBIs in 82 games for the Colorado Springs Sky Sox. He was expected to be in uniform for Friday’s game against the Marlins.
“He’s leading the league in RBIs, he’s hitting home runs, he’s playing first base and he plays about every day,” Hurdle said. “So, he’s steady.”
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