Chase Headley: Padres Asking a lot From Pirates for Young Hitter
By Matt Shetler
One of the names I’ve been saying that I could see the Pirates getting at the trade deadline in current San Diego Padres third baseman Chase Headley.
Maybe that’s not the case anymore.
ESPN’s Buster Olney reported via Twitter, that the Padres are asking for a significant package of prospects from the Pirates in exchange for Headley, the same they have will all teams.
The Padres have asked the Pirates for a significant package of prospects for Chase Headley, as they have with all teams.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) July 23, 2012
Headley currently is hitting .268 with 11 homers and 50 RBI, playing in Petco Park. He has a WAR right around 3.0 and that’s likely to increase as the season goes on.
Of course he has more value around the league as a third baseman and not an outfielder.
If the Bucs were to acquire Headley it would mean a move back to left field or a shift of Pedro Alvarez to first base, something I don’t want to see happen at this point in the season.
Because Headley has value, the Padres will certainly be asking for a top prospect and one of the lefties at Indianapolis and that’s something I don’t know if I can part with if I’m the Pirates. He is making $3.475 million this year and is first-year arbitration eligible next year, meaning Headley would be under the Pirates control for a while at a pretty hefty price when it is all said and done.
Given the salary and what it would take to acquire Headley, the focus should still be on Arizona’s Justin Upton or adding starting pitching.