Bomber Bites With Jumping Joe–Key to Yankees Offseason is Chase Headley

The World Series is over and the Giants have been crowned world champs.  Now it’s time for Brian Cashman and the rest of the Yankee front office to get to work.  There is a lot to do before the Bombers head to Tampa for spring training.  The Yankees came four games short of a playoff spot in 2014.  They need to get better in several areas to make it back to the playoffs for the first time since 2012.  There are holes at shortstop, third base, outfield and in the pitching staff.  But the biggest key to a successful offseason will be resigning Chase Headley.

Chase Headley was acquired at the trade deadline for Yangervis Solarte from the San Diego Padres.  In 58 games in the Bronx, Headley hit six home runs and hit .262.  He finished the season with a .243 average 13 home runs, and 49 RBI.  He is a career .265 hitter who has hit over 15 home runs in a season just once, his career year in 2012.  Defensively, he is a Gold Glove-caliber player at the hot corner.  

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But in an offseason in which much bigger names, Jon Lester, Max Scherzer, James Shields, Hanley Ramirez and Victor Martinez to name a few are free agents, how can Headley be the lynchpin of the Yankee offseason plans?  Third base is certainly not the biggest need on the team, Alex Rodriguez will be back.  So why Headley?  The answer is strategy.  Resigning Headley is the move that sets up all the other moves.

By resigning Headley, even if it is not a long term contract, the Yankees shore up third base for 2015.  That allows the returning Rodriguez to be installed as the full time DH and backup first baseman.  Carlos Beltran is then moved back to right field after spending most of an injury-plagued season as the Yankee DH.  The focus in regards to the lineup can then focus entirely on acquiring a new shortstop, such as Hanley Ramirez.

Mandatory Credit: Chad R. MacDonald.

Ramirez is the far and away the best available shortstop this offseason.  While no longer the dynamic offensive talent he was a few years ago, he would instantly become one of the top three hitters in the 2015 Bomber lineup.  The biggest drawback to his game, however, is his defense.  He has limited range and is among the bottom half in most defensive metrics.  However, by securing Headley at third the Yankees will be able to mitigate at least some of those defensive inefficiencies.

Headley’s defensive prowess also boasts the Yankees chances of not needing to break the bank on a free agent pitcher.  To be clear, the Yankees should absolutely be in talks with each of Lester, Scherzer and Shields, but the price tag in both dollars and years is expected to be enormous for each of them.  The Yankees shouldn’t feel compelled to sign one at any cost.

They can resign Brandon McCarthy, a predominately groundball pitcher, to fill out a staff that already includes Masahiro Tanaka, Michael Pineda, Shane Greene, CC Sabathia and Ivan Nova (when he recovers from Tommy John surgery).  McCarthy (and the Yankees as a whole) need a better defensive infield than the one that the Yankees fielded for most of last season.

Headley is the key and the Yankees need to move to resign him as quickly as possible.  Getting him under contract allows the Yankees to move from a position of strength for the remainder of the offseason as they execute their plan for 2015, which will hopefully lead to October baseball in the Bronx in 2015.