I was watching the Seattle game tonight, and during a commercial break, the baseball analyst for Latin America was going on and on about how Todd Helton was on the block, and that the Rockies were trying to move him right after the All Star Break, because their 1B prospect Ryan Shealy was destroying AAA ball (.318; 29 HR; 99 RBI last season; unknown statistics for this season.).

I was about to change the channel because I care about the Rockies as much as I care about wiffleball, but then the commentator said that Helton is willing to move to left field to be able to fit into other teams's plans, which reminded me of the Mike Sweeney situation in which he wants to join the Angels so much that he's willing to change positions or even becoming a full time DH. Anyway, I was about to change the channel again because I remembered that Helton is still owed about 12 million dollars this year... but then the guy said that teams that could be on the run for Helton included the Giants, the Mets and the Cubs. The Cubs?!. I shouted in disbelief. Is Hendry actually trying to expand the payroll? Would Helton be helpful for the Cubs? How many years has he left in his contract? How many prospe-- okay, I'll stop.

Anyway, I didn't think much of that until I logged on Sportsline to check the night games, and decided to check the prospect reports. I happened to see this snippet on Helton that made what the commentator said more credible... here's the quote:

"We saw a few deals go down (Polanco and Spivey). So, we decided this week's On the Verge would list some of the top 2005 Fantasy prospects for those "bottom third" teams which are now evaluating and realizing they are not realistically in the race. These teams are more apt to deal veterans and work on 2006 in the second half by giving prospects some trial-by-fire.

The Bottom third (by CBS SportsLine.com Power Rankings):
Colorado Rockies -- Ryan Shealy to replace a dealt Todd Helton?
[...]
Also, track the trade rumors that could open up positions ... we would like to start some Helton rumors.

Author: Bleacher Banter."

Weird.

Please Discuss.