Yankees acquire Chase Headley from Padres

The Yankees finally got their man in Headley after pursuing him for a couple of years.

Jul 22, 2014, 5:46 PM UTC

Justin Edmonds

The Yankees have acquired third baseman Chase Headley and cash considerations from the Padres in exchange for infielder Yangervis Solarte and minor league right-hander Rafael De Paula, a major league source has confirmed. The deal was first reported as close by Jack Curry of YES Network and first reported as complete by Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.

Headley, 30, will immediately take over at third base for a Yankees team that has used stopgap options like Solarte, Kelly Johnson, Zelous Wheeler and Scott Sizemore at the position this season. Headley has struggled in 77 games for San Diego, hitting only .229/.296/.355 while hitting seven home runs and driving in 32 runs.

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The Yankees have shown strong interest in Headley for a couple of years, dating back to when his career season in 2012, when he slashed .286/.376/.498 while hitting 31 home runs and driving in 115 runs. San Diego was reluctant to deal him and reportedly had interest in signing him to a long-term contract extension. As such, they were unable to capitalize at his moment of highest value and dealt him for less than they could have realized earlier after two rough seasons. Headley is only under team control for the rest of this season, and will become a free agent this winter.

Solarte, 27, impressed in the early going this season after making his major league debut with the Yankees this season, but has since struggled and hit .254/.337/.381 in 75 games at the major league level before being optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He was recalled on July 10. He will likely join the Padres’ major league team, replacing Headley at third base.

De Paula, 23, is 6-5 with a 4.15 ERA in 20 appearances (17 starts) with High-A Tampa this season. The Dominican-born righty was ranked by Baseball America as the organization’s 15th-best prospect heading into the season and is currently ranked by MLB.com as the team’s 15th-best young player as well. De Paula has hit 100 mph with his fastball in the past, but has struggled in the low level of the minors and has a rough delivery that he has difficulty repeating.

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