Upon trading for superstar Alex Rodriguez in February 2004 and moving him to third base, the Yankees could rest easy knowing that they had secured a real long-term answer for the hot corner. For the better part of nine years, the Yankees planned their seasons with A-Rod penciled in at third, but by 2014, they ran into a dilemma. Multiple hip surgeries and the aches of age had worn down his ability to man third, and off-field controversy had finally caught up to him, leading to a PED suspension for the entire
2014 campaign. Although A-Rod would return, he was almost exclusively a designated hitter.
In the 13 years since A-Rod’s decline truly began in 2013, the Yankees have cycled through several names in search of an answer. Twenty different players (including A-Rod himself) have accumulated at least 100 PA at third for them since then, and they comprise quite the odd roll call. DJ LeMahieu leads the way in terms of playing time, but the man with the second-most is the focus of our birthday feature today: Chase Headley. A one-time standout in San Diego acquired by Yankees GM Brian Cashman via trade, the switch-hitter falls into a sort of middle ground of memory. New York fans who followed those mid-2010s teams will recall his modest play, but for those who didn’t become diehards until after the fact? His legacy is a little more fuzzy.
Chase Jordan Headley
Born: May 9, 1984 (Fountain, CO)
Yankees Tenure: 2014-17
A Colorado native who grew up a little over an hour outside Denver in Fountain, Headley found his calling card in baseball at Fountain-Fort Carson High School. The valedictorian of his class, he went on to attend the University of the Pacific, where he hit .330/.453/.464 as a freshman and quickly earned national attention. Headley transferred to the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and continued to ascend despite an injury in his sophomore campaign. He broke school records in his junior season and helped lead the Volunteers to a 2005 College World Series berth before being selected by the Padres in the second round of the 2005 MLB Draft, just three picks after the Yankees selected somewhat-forgotten Longhorn righty J. Brent Cox.
The third baseman moved up the minor league rankings over two seasons, being named the Texas League Player of the Year with a .330/.437/.580 triple slash for the 2007 San Antonio Missions. He made his MLB debut that same year, appearing in a handful of contests in June when the Padres needed big-league help before returning for a cup of coffee at the very end of the year. He went hitless in his first career game but registered his first knock in his third, a single against future teammate Rich Hill.
Prior to 2008, Headley was named among the top 35 MLB prospects by both Baseball Prospectus and Baseabll America. He spent his spring with Triple-A Portland and earned a more long-term look with San Diego by mid-June. He played in 91 games in ’08, producing a slash line of .269/.337/.420 and an OPS+ of 110. Headley’s first career homer actually came in an interleague game at Old Yankee Stadium, taking reliever Kyle Farnsworth deep on June 18th.
After proving that he could be an above-average hitter at the major league level, Headley became a full-time Padres player in 2009. In 156 games, Headley was still an above-average player at the plate, finishing the year with a .262 batting average and a 102 OPS+.
The biggest problem in Headley’s first full season was the strikeout, as it can be for many young players trying to adjust to life full-time with the best of the best. In those 156 games, Headley finished with 133 strikeouts, which ranked among the top 30 of all MLB hitters. However, he reached double-digit home runs for the first time in his career with 12 and achieved the 60-RBI plateau as well. Headley was also still primarily playing left field since Kevin Kouzmanoff was San Diego’s de facto third baseman.
By 2010, Kouzmanoff had been traded, opening up the hot corner for Headley. It was his natural position throughout his time in college and the minors, and he turned into a terrific defender aet third.
Headley gradually came into his own as a big leaguer across 2010 and 2011. Those years merely represented a prelude for 2012 — a season for the ages and the one he’s best known for around baseball.
In 2012, not only did Headley miss only one game, but across those 161 appearances, Headley put his name on the map amid frequent rumors of a potential trade. He slashed .286/.376/.498 with an OPS+ of 145. He walked a career-high 86 times, stole a career-high 17 bases, and also had career highs in home runs (31), RBI’s (115), OPS+ (145), and WAR (6.4). Those home runs were the most of any NL third baseman, and the RBI’s were also not just the most of his career, but they were also the highest in the National League. In 2012, Headley also received major league honors, finishing with a Gold Glove Award and a Silver Slugger Award, while also finishing fifth in NL MVP voting.
Entering camp for his age-29 season, the Padres thought they had a star on their hands. Unfortunately, it didn’t take long for 2012 to look like an outlier. Headley’s 2013 was marred by injury, though, as he started the season on the then-disabled list due to a hand injury in spring training after a slide into second base, and he played through a torn meniscus in his left knee throughout the year, which he believed contributed to his decline in offensive production. Headley’s OPS+ was still a productive 115, but his power was more than halved to 13 homers. He would never again hit even 15 homers in a season.
At the start of 2014, Headley’s numbers took another dip, and this time, the Padres decided it would be best to move on. So on July 22nd, the Padres traded Headley to the Yankees. In return, they received a replacement in Yangervis Solarte—who had come to spring training as a non-roster invitee and soon became a fan favorite and primary third baseman in A-Rod’s absence—and pitching prospect Rafael De Paula. Flying to New York that day, Headley’s travels meant that he didn’t start, but he entered his first game as a Yankee in the eighth inning, pinch-hitting for Zelous Wheeler. Although he struck out, the game went deep into the night, and a 14th-inning rally found Headley with a chance to win it in his pinstriped debut.
The walk-off was a good omen for Headley’s first foray in pinstripes. He hit .262/.371/.398 with a 119 OPS+ in 58 games down the stretch for the Yankees, winning more fans over with a walk-off homer on September 4th against the defending champion Red Sox for good measure. It was a super-effective start to his career in the Bronx. The only downside was that the 2014 Yankees were a pretty mediocre squad on the whole, featuring some famous names but underwhelming results while missing the playoffs with just 84 wins.
Encouraged by his second half, the Yankees and Headley came together on a four-year, $52 million deal a month after the third baseman hit free agency. It wasn’t a huge investment—certainly not the kind that something closer to his 2012 might have merited—but it still proved to be a bit of an overpay. Headley’s offense plummeted back down to Earth, mustering only a 91 OPS+ across 2015-16 while hitting .256/.327/.703. He was still a useful defender, but the power that he had once shown continued to be lost, save for the occasional flash. The Yankees were one-and-done as a Wild Card team in 2015, Headley going 0-for-3 in the shutout at the hands of Houston’s Dallas Keuchel.
After missing the playoffs in 2016, the Yankees surged back to the postseason with a surprising new core in 2017 led by a rookie Aaron Judge. Headley was better than he had been the previous two years and actually recorded an acceptable 100 OPS+ on the dot, batting .273/.352/.406 with 30 doubles and 12 homers. Seeking to boost their lineup at the Trade Deadline, the Yankees acquired third baseman Todd Frazier as part of a package from the White Sox, and took advantage of Headley’s always-maintained corner infield versatility by sliding him over to first base, where there was an opening due to Greg Bird’s midseason injury.
When Bird returned in time for the postseason, Headley and fellow odd mid-2010s signing Jacoby Ellsbury found themselves in the odd position of competing for DH time at the bottom of the lineup with incumbent Matt Holliday all but rendered a nonfactor due to an ailing back. Headley went hitless until the ALCS, when he suddenly came alive after the series against the infamous 2017 Astros shifted to Yankee Stadium. He went 7-for-15 across the final five games of the series in what turned out to be his last gasp of production as a big leaguer, delivering a pinch-hit single in the come-from-behind eighth-inning rally of Game 4 and then registering three hits in the 5-0 win in Game 5 that put New York on the brink of the pennant with a 3-2 series lead.
So close to what would have been the first World Series appearance of his career, Headley instead never made it. The Yankees infamously dropped the final two games in Houston and were sent packing.
Headley was still well-liked in the clubhouse, but the Yankees felt that they could only trust his 2017 results so much, even with Frazier vacating third base as a free agent. So when the Padres expressed an interest in young pitcher Bryan Mitchell, the Yankees offered to send him west if San Diego was willing to pick up almost all of the $13 million still owed to Headley for 2018; they had just made the megatrade for Giancarlo Stanton and were looking to get their payroll in order.
After some negotiations, the Padres were game, so Headley found himself back in San Diego. The reunion was brief. He went 6-for-52 (.115) with no power in 27 games, and he was released in May, marking the end of his 12-year career. Since stepping away from the game, he’s led a quiet retirement, understandably content to focus on family and raising his two sons, Colt and Cale, with his wife, Casey.
Happy 42nd birthday, Chase!
See more of the “Yankees Birthday of the Day” series here.
