The Rockies have signed 43-year old righty reliever Mike Timlin to a minor league deal. Timlin has not pitched this season yet. In 47 games (0 starts) for the Red Sox last season, Timlin was 4-4 with 1 save, a 5.66 ERA and a 1.62 WHIP. Timlin has now pitched in 1,058 games in his major league career and he is 75-73 with 141 saves, a 3.63 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. This was another low risk signing that could pay some dividends later this season.

UPDATE: The Rockies have released Timlin at his request. He pitched in 6 games (1 start) in Rookie + AAA ball this season and he was 0-0 with a 2.70 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP.

The Rockies have traded 27-year old righty starting pitcher Jason Hirsh to the Yankees for a player to be named later. Hirsh pitched in 20 games (16 starts) in AAA-ball this season for the Rockies and he was 6-7 with a 6.66 ERA and a 1.63 WHIP. The Rockies once had high hopes for Hirsh after he came over from the Astros in a trade but he never panned out with them.

After dealing with a bad back the last couple of years it appears that 35-year old lefty swinging 1B Todd Helton is finally healthy. He has played in 91 games for the Rockies this season and he is 107 for 334 (.320 avg, .922 OPS) with 51 runs scored, 11 homers and 60 RBIs. It’s no coincidence that the Rockies play has mirrored that of Helton this season as he means that much to this team.

The Rockies have signed 39-year old righty reliever Matt Herges to a minor league deal. Herges pitched in 21 games (0 starts) for the Indians earlier this season and he was 2-1 with a 3.55 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. He was one of their better pitchers this season before getting released. Herges has now pitched in 558 games (4 starts) in his major league career and he is 42-35 with 34 saves, a 3.92 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP. This was a nice low risk pickup for the Rockies as Herges proved that he could handle pitching in Colorado in 2007 and 2008.

The Rockies have designated 29-year old righty pitcher Matt Belisle. Belisle pitched in 15 games (0 starts) for the Rockies this season and he was 1-1 with a 8.35 ERA and a 1.69 WHIP. Belisle was pitching batting practice for the Rockies so far this season as he allowed 26 hits (four of which were homers) in only 18 1/3 innings. The Rockies won’t miss Belisle at all.