PHOENIX - Rockies third baseman Garrett Atkins faces an uncertain future.

"I joke around about it," Atkins said. "I tell everyone, 'I'll enjoy playing against you next year.' It's just good fun."

It's a bit of gallows humor.

Right now, the Rockies' focus is on finishing the season on a high note. They open a three-game series tonight at Arizona on the fringe of the National League postseason battle. They are six games out of first place in the National League West, five games back in the wild-card race.

The Rockies can control their fate. They have games with four of the five teams ahead of them in the wild-card standings.

Only Atlanta, which is one-half game ahead of the Rockies, has finished its regular-season play against them.

The Rockies have six games each against San Diego and Arizona. The Diamondbacks lead the division; the Padres lead the wild card. The Rockies still play seven games against Los Angeles, which is two games ahead of them in both races.

And they travel to Philadelphia from Sept. 10-13 for four games against the Phillies, who are three games in front of the Rockies for the wild card.

But Atkins has no control over what lies ahead for him.

A focus of the Rockies' offseason will be fitting third baseman Ian Stewart, the top prospect in the system, into the picture for 2008. And that's where Atkins enters the equation.

The Rockies could trade Atkins to open the third base job, and given Atkins' offensive production, the market would be strong, beginning with interest from the Twins, Angels, Dodgers and Astros. The Yankees also loom as a possibility if Alex Rodriguez opts out of the remainder of his contract.

The other option would be to move Atkins to first base, where he played his junior year at UCLA, although that would involve trading Todd Helton.

That would be a major challenge because Helton has a complete no-trade clause, is guaranteed $73.5 million during the next four years and is in the midst of his third consecutive season of offensive disappointment.

That's not a subject Helton likes to discuss.

He endured public scrutiny last offseason when Boston twice tried to work out a trade, which he indicated he would approve, only to have the Rockies end talks because they wanted prospects the Red Sox wouldn't include in the package. The Angels also approached the Rockies, but that didn't go far because Helton indicated he wouldn't accept a move to Anaheim.

Other than Boston, the only teams Helton has indicated he would seriously consider are Atlanta, St. Louis, Texas and Houston.

Helton does know hot-stove conversations will be filled with speculation about his future with the Rockies.

"I won't listen to them, and right now, I don't see any reason to talk about them," he said. "We are trying to get to the postseason. We are in the middle of (the postseason battle), and that is where our focus needs to be."

What bothers Helton is he feels the Rockies would be even bigger factors in the NL West and wild-card races if he were having a year closer to what he feels he should have.

While the Rockies have three players among the top eight in the NL in RBI, Helton, the team's all-time RBI and home run leader, isn't one of them.

He is hitting .298, 35 points below his career average coming into the season.

He has 12 home runs, three fewer than the lowest single-season total of his career. And he has driven in 69 runs, fifth on the team behind Matt Holliday, Brad Hawpe, Atkins and Troy Tulowitzki.

"I'm definitely disappointed," Helton said. "I worked hard in the offseason. I was prepared to have a good season. I didn't lift weights and do all that other work all offseason to hit 12 home runs by the end of August. But if we win and make it to the playoffs, it doesn't matter to me if I hit .220."

Atkins is focused on the on-field challenge as well, but he can't ignore what could happen during the offseason.

"Obviously, the Rockies have to find a place for Ian," he said. "That's part of this game. That's part of being with an organization that has a good farm system. Every year there is going to be a player or two coming along who has to have a place, and there's going to be someone who becomes the odd man out."

ringolsbyt@RockyMountainNews.com

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