The Colorado Rockies placed first baseman Todd Helton on the 15-day DL with a sore back today and recalled Joe Koshansky from Triple-A Colorado Springs.

Helton is hitting .266 with seven homers and 29 RBIs this season.

This is the third trip to the DL in Helton's 11-year career and his first since 2006.

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 tonight's game against the Marlins.

The 34-year-old Helton sat out yesterday's game against Florida, and Rockies manager Clint Hurdle says his back felt worse today.

Helton has a career batting average of .332 coming into 2008. He was moved from the cleanup spot to hitting second on the lineup after hitting .182 in the last 22 games.