March 21, 2004
Hell of a Drive
Rick Helling is out after having his leg broken by a line drive:
Helling, who signed a minor-league contract with the Twins this season and was expected to be their fifth starter, was hit in the lower leg by a hard liner off the bat of Philadelphia's Shawn Wooten in the fourth inning Saturday.
Helling left the game with what he and the team believed was a bruise, but X-rays on Sunday morning revealed a fractured right fibula.
This might actually be a good thing for the Twins. Helling isn't that great a pitcher, and this might open the door for someone younger and better.
Posted by David Pinto at
07:20 PM
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Injuries
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Hopefully this gets Grant Balfour into the rotation, where he belongs. Last year it was the corpses Joe Mays and Rick Reed that kept Johan Santana out of the rotation for way too long; with Helling down, Reed gone, and the shine having rubbed off of Mays, here's hoping Balfour makes it in. He defeinitely deserves it.
Does anyone know what sort of insurance a player like Helling has? He didn't have a major league contract but are the Twins obligated to play him a major league salary while he is on the DL? Does that salary count against the cap? Or is Helling just out of luck?
Thanks
if i was a twins fan, i would be delighted, and sorry for helling, too. but he hasn't been a good pitcher in about 4 years. i think he signed a minor league contract. so he doesn't have to be paid a ML salary if he doesn't make the team.
