Blue Jays, Padres discussing Chase Headley trade
The Toronto Blue Jays and San Diego Padres have had ongoing discussions on a possible trade involving third baseman Chase Headley, reports Jon Morosi of FOX Sports. He says the talks remain in progress and could be affected by the recent injury to Blue Jays slugger Edwin Encarnacion.
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Headley, 30, has been the Padres’ starting third baseman the past five-plus years. In 2012, he finished fifth in National League MVP voting after a breakout year with San Diego, but he’s quietly regressed a good deal since then, particularly on the offensive side of things.
This season, Headley has batted .216/.297/.333 with six homers and 25 RBI over 259 plate appearances. He’s been limited by injuries at times, including a calf strain in April, but has struggled with effectiveness even when he’s made it on the field.
That’s the bad news, but Morosi notes that there’s optimism among executives that Headley could rebound:
Headley is having a down year, but there's a belief that a change of scenery (winning team, hitter-friendly park) would change outlook.
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) July 7, 2014
If teams believe that Headley could return to his old ways outside of Petco Park, he could be a strong rental for a team looking to add offense. The Blue Jays make sense in that case, as they’ll badly need extra pop in the coming weeks with Encarnacion sidelined by a leg injury.
Headley’s pending free agency will likely be one complication to any deal, as well as his $10 million salary. The kind of prospects San Diego receives will potentially depend on how much salary they’re willing to eat, if any. Don’t be surprised if the rumors continue swirling, though, as the Padres stare a double-digit deficit in the NL West.