Chase Headley Needs to Figure It Out

Brian Cashman usually gets his man, whether it comes through a trade or free agency. This is especially true with New York Yankees third baseman Chase Headley. Cashman pursued Headley for years at the trade deadline, before finally landing him in July 2014. Unfortunately for Cashman and the Yankees, the deal hasn’t been what they expected. 

When the Yankees got Headley, he was a .266 hitter, a good fielder, an RBI leader in 2012, which led to a fifth-place MVP vote and most of all, a replacement for Alex Rodriguez. Rodriguez was suspended for the entire 2014 season and the Yankees needed to look towards the future.

Headley was no A-Rod, but he could hit the ball and play decent defense at the hot corner. It was all the Yankees needed out of him, since there was plenty of power in the lineup.

Fast forward to 2016. Headley is batting just .149 on the season, without an extra-base hit and has a .253 average with the Yankees. He has just 15 home runs to go along with just 69 RBIs in 229 games in pinstripes. Not the type of production you want out of a third baseman, and definitely not the numbers to replace A-Rod.

He committed 23 errors at third base in 2015, which was the most at the position. It was a mixture of fielding and throwing, as each play seemed to be interesting. His play in the field in 2016 has been better, as he has just one error on the season.

Overall, he has not been worth the four-year, $52 million deal he signed before the 2015 season. Looking back, it was a move the Yankees had to make though, as they had no interest in putting Rodriguez back there and didn’t want to pay Pablo Sandoval. There wasn’t much at third base that offseason, with Alberto Callaspo and Mark Reynolds being the only others to sign major league deals.

Baseball has seen a huge transition in the hot corner over the last few years, as it has become a young player’s position. Gone are the days of Rodriguez, Kevin Youkilis and Chipper Jones patrolling the hot corner. Kids like Kris Bryant, Nolan Arenado and Maikel Franco are the present and the future. Bryant was the 2015 NL Rookie of the Year, Arenado is a defensive wiz with some pop and Franco has the potential to be a stud.

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Unfortunately the Yankees don’t have any of these players, or anything close to it. They are stuck with Headley, unless they make some crazy moves, for the next two seasons. The minor leagues are short on third basemen, with Rob Refsnyder and Miguel Andujar being the only realistic options.

Andujar is batting just .224 on the young season and Refsnyder is still learning another new position. So unless either mash the ball at an unrealistic level or Headley misses an extended period of time, neither will be up in 2016. Refsnyder may come up to back up second base or as added depth at some point, but not to be the new third baseman.

The Yankees offense is a mess right now, but it could begin to straighten itself out once a few more players begin to hit. Headley is one of them that needs to figure it out, or it will be a long 2016 season. Another bad season, and it may be the end of Headley in New York.