Todd Helton’s season is over.
The Rockies’ veteran first baseman will undergo arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right hip. The surgery, to be performed Friday, marks the end of Helton’s 15th season in the major leagues.
“The recovery time is about six months, so I am doing this now so I can be ready for spring training. I plan on playing next year,” Helton told The Denver Post on Monday morning.
Helton, who turns 39 on Aug. 20, has one more year remaining on his contract with the Rockies.
Infielder Chris Nelson will be activated off the disabled list to take Helton’s place on the 25-man roster.
The sore hip has bothered Helton since early June during a road trip to Arizona. It hindered Helton’s ability to lift his right leg at the plate, throwing off his timing. Helton, a five-time all-star and three-time Gold Glove winner, has also struggled moving to his right on groundballs hit between first and second.
Helton, a career .320 hitter, is batting just .238 this season, the worst average of his career.
He played on Sunday, batting third for the first time this season and clubbing a double in the first inning. The double was the 570th of his career, leaving him two shy of tying Ivan Rodriguez for 20th on the MLB all-time list. It was Helton’s 960th career extra-base hit, tying him with Hall of Famer Robin Yount for 44th on the all-time list.
According to the Mayo Clinic website, a hip labral tear involves the ring of soft elastic tissue, called the labrum, that follows the outside rim of the socket of the hip joint. The labrum acts like a socket to hold the ball at the top of the thighbone (femur) in place.
Symptoms typically included hip pain and a “catching sensation” when sudden movements are made.
Using arthroscopic techniques, surgeons can remove loose fragments from within the joint and trim or repair the hip labral tear.
Patrick Saunders: 303-954-1428, psaunders@denverpost.com or twitter.com/psaundersdp
