Yankees begin talks to bring back third baseman Chase Headley
The Yankees may investigate Pablo Sandoval but they think Chase Headley, who'll be much less expensive, is a good fit for them at third base.
By
Jon Heyman
•
1 min read
The Yankees may check in on World Series hero Pablo Sandoval, but with his asking price over $100 million, they are focusing on bringing back Chase Headley for third base and have already begun those negotiations.
The Yankees like Sandoval, of course, but they are also quite comfortable with Headley, who played well for them after coming over from San Diego. Headley also found New York much more to his liking than he expected, according to people around the team.
Alex Rodriguez is eligible to return this year, but the pursuit of Headley suggests the Yankees see A-Rod as more of a DH or part-time first baseman, assuming he's able to make it back after a year off due to his Biogenesis ban.
Headley also won't get near the type of pay day it appeared he might get two years ago, when he led the NL with 115 RBI after a monster second half, and Padres owner Ron Fowler announced they expected to make Headley the biggest offer in Padres history. Headley said he preferred not to talk contract during the season, and the team wound up offering him a three-year deal for around $11 million a year last spring. He was pretty good with the Yankees, posting a.768 OPS after the trade, but overall, he had 13 home runs, 49 RBI, a .243 atting average and .700 OPS.
The Yankees were not able to get under the luxury-tax threshold last year, as they had hoped, so their tax remains high. They could also be trying to save money for a big starting pitcher, should they go that route.
