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The New York Yankees bolstered their chances of reaching the 2014 MLB playoffs by acquiring third baseman Chase Headley from the San Diego Padres.

The Padres confirmed the swap.

Jack Curry of the YES Network first broke word of the deal Tuesday:

Jon Heyman of CBS Sports provided further details of the agreement:

Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News indicated Headley is on the roster but is not starting:

Headley shared his appreciation of San Diego and commented on the move:

Corey Brock of MLB.com provides more comments from Headley:

ESPN’s Wallace Matthews, Daniel Barbarisi of the Wall Street Journal and Bryan Hoch of MLB.com provide comments from Yankees GM Brian Cashman:

For a while early in the season it looked like Yangervis Solarte might be the answer at third base for the Yankees, at least in the short term. He was hitting near .300 with six home runs through the first two months before his play dropped off considerably.

Now he’s heading to San Diego along with pitching prospect Rafael De Paula in exchange for Headley and some cash to offset his contract.

The Yankees are hoping Headley, who’s scheduled to become a free agent at season’s end, can enjoy a second-half surge. He was one of the top infielders in baseball two years ago when he posted an .875 OPS and tallied 31 home runs.

His production before and after that point hasn’t been anywhere close to those levels, however. He hasn’t hit more than 13 homers in any other season and is on pace for 12 this year. That said, at least he’s shown signs of life in July with a .323 average.

New York is currently four games behind the Baltimore Orioles in the AL East. Even if Headley doesn’t put up monster numbers the rest of the way, he provides the team with a better chance of eliminating the deficit than any of its options before the trade.

Joe Sheehan of Sports Illustrated likes the deal for the Yankees:

As for the Padres, they have fallen out of the National League race and apparently decided to get something for Headley while they still could. Assistant general manager A.J. Hinch previously noted to Jeff Sanders of U-T San Diego that they were getting a lot of calls:

We have a lot of good players that a lot of teams have asked about, but that doesn’t mean we’re open to trading everyone. For me and the guys upstairs, we’re not getting too far ahead of ourselves as far as other moves that may happen.

While the deal is better than watching Headley walk away for nothing, it’s nowhere near what San Diego could have received for him a few years ago. The Padres didn’t sell high, and it hurt them this time around.

The Yankees are buying low with hope of a production boom. If they get it, the trade will be a massive victory because they didn’t have to give up any major assets and it would likely result in them finishing atop the AL East.

That’s no guarantee given Headley’s performance this season, though.

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While Major League Baseball’s All-Stars take the field on Tuesday night to celebrate the game, there are a lot of players anxiously waiting to find out where they will be after the July 31 trade deadline.

This is the time of year where fans and players are in perfect sync, pulling their hair out and biting their nails trying to determine if the latest rumor being floated out there is true or just due diligence by the team.

As we know from past years, most of what we see over the next two weeks will be a lot of smoke with little fire. That said, there’s a lot more smoke rising that needs to be talked about. Here are the hottest rumors floating around the MLB world.

Bartolo Colon Available for the Taking

Even though the New York Mets have had to dip into their pool of starting pitchers this season, general manager Sandy Alderson isn’t above making a bold move for a pitching-needy team if the price is right.

According to Adam Rubin of ESPN New York, Colon has been put on the trade market ahead of the July 31 deadline.

The New York Mets have made right-hander Bartolo Colon available as the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline nears, industry sources told ESPNNewYork.com.

[…]

Although general manager Sandy Alderson has suggested a surplus of arms can quickly be depleted through injury, the Mets do have an excess at the position.

Given the premium price that teams place on pitching, Colon makes a nice low-risk alternative if the Mets don’t overvalue him. The right-hander is three months into a two-year, $20 million contract, which is very reasonable for a starter who has been roughly league average in 2014.

Whether it’s to a division leader or a borderline playoff contender, Colon does represent a solid fallback plan for teams this summer. His success will be tied to the park and defense behind him, because the stuff doesn’t miss bats (127 hits allowed and 89 strikeouts in 121.2 innings), so an NL team or AL team in a big park would be the best options.

Chase Headley Maybe, Possibly Traded This Time Around

The San Diego Padres missed their window to maximize Chase Headley‘s trade value following the 2012 season, when the third baseman finished fifth in NL MVP voting, because they convinced themselves that outlier season was real and everything that had come before was a mirage.

Two years later, Headley‘s OPS has dropped 229 points since that breakout season. That’s hardly what he was hoping for in a contract year, nor does it give the Padres much leverage in trade discussions.

Those trade discussions are happening, according to Jon Morosi of Fox Sports, with one of the surprise teams in the first half:

Headley doesn’t exactly fill Toronto’s need for a hitter with Edwin Encarnacion on the disabled list. What good does a player with a .646 OPS do? In case you thought Headley‘s numbers were skewed down by Petco Park, his OPS is lower on the road (.643) than at home (.649) in 2014.

The Padres have to do something with Headley this time around, unless they assume that this disastrous season will lower his value so much that they can afford an extension now.

The Blue Jays can use help at third base, especially with Brett Lawrie also on the disabled list, but if they want to make a serious playoff run, any move has to be impactful. Headley doesn’t fit that bill anymore.

Huston, We Have a Problem…

Speaking of the Padres, their most likely trade chip this summer seems like Huston Street. According to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com, the 30-year-old is on the market with the Los Angeles Angels keeping a close eye on him:

The Angels are among the teams looking at Padres star closer Huston Street, who still seems likely to be traded even after upper management expressed a desire to bring him back to San Diego next year.

We know the demand for relievers is high this time of year, and interested teams don’t have to give up impact prospects for relievers.

Of course, we are talking about San Diego. This is a franchise that continued to put a high price on Heath Bell’s head seemingly every year from 2007-11, so who knows what’s going to happen with Street.

The Bell situation did happen under a different regime—led by Kevin Towers from 2007-09, who is now doing a bang-up job in Arizona—but the Padres don’t have a general manager at the moment after firing Josh Byrnes on June 22.

Street’s been fantastic for the Padres this season with a 1.09 ERA, 0.758 WHIP, 18 hits allowed, 34 strikeouts and seven walks in 33 innings pitched. However, he doesn’t come cheaply at $7 million this season and, if an acquiring team doesn’t just want a rental, a $7 million team option for 2015.

The Angels need to address their bullpen this summer, ranking 20th in strikeout-to-walk ratio and 24th in relievers ERA this season. They have the motivation to make a move, currently sporting the second-best record in baseball, but finances and what they might give up are unclear.

After all, the Angels have been able to put together a 57-37 record thus far even with those bullpen struggles. How vital is it to add an expensive arm to that group?

If you want to talk sports, hit me up on Twitter.

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Since getting swept by Joe Torre and the New York Yankees in the 1998 World Series, the San Diego Padres have only played playoff ball twice.

Even on those two occasions that they managed to take an underpaid club and over-perform enough to swing the bats in October, they’ve only been victorious once.

Not since Khalil Greene was making acrobatic plays at shortstop before making the throw to Adrian Gonzalez at first base has this team hung an NL West banner. Eight years later, Greene is five years into his retirement, while Gonzalez finds himself playing baseball up the I-5 with Magic Johnson. Meanwhile, the Friars are still trying to figure this whole baseball thing out and turn things around.

It may take some collective prayers.

It may take a complete overhaul of the League’s hatred for parity by implementing a salary cap 

Either way, read on to find out what this club can do to improve.

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On Tuesday, the Padres placed third baseman Chase Headley on revocable waivers, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. This is probably not big news. But if he passes through unclaimed, it can certainly be.

General manager Josh Byrnes told Lee “Hacksaw” Hamilton of XTRA Sports 1090 in San Diego that he couldn’t comment on the report, which likely indicates that the situation has not come to a conclusion. Headley either hasn’t cleared waivers yet, was claimed and pulled back, or the Padres could be in trade talks with the claiming team. 

With one year remaining of team control, Headley is likely to be placed on the trade block this upcoming offseason. If the Padres can get a good enough package now, though, Headley could finish the season elsewhere and the front office will have a head start on the offseason.

While Headley‘s value has dropped considerably since his huge second half of 2012 (.978 OPS, 23 HR, 73 RBI), or just returned to where it had been throughout his career, he’s still viewed as a solid third baseman who provides terrific defense and the ability to hit 10-15 homers, 30-35 doubles and steal 10-15 bases per season.

The price tag has likely dropped significantly, but that doesn’t mean Headley can be acquired for fringe prospects. It will still take at least one very good prospect to pry the 29-year-old away from San Diego.

Here are two contending teams where Headley could be a fit and two noncontenders who might just try to get a jump on the offseason by acquiring him now.  

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If the owner of your favorite baseball team has a “win at all cost” attitude, that’s usually a good thing, right? Yes! Being aggressive and spending money has paid off for many eventual World Series champions. But it’s also resulted in some very dire situations, notably in the case of Arte Moreno and the Los Angeles Angels. 

Saddled with two of the worst contracts in baseball—Albert Pujols, whose numbers have declined in three consecutive seasons, is still owed $212 million through his age-41 season in 2021; Josh Hamilton, also in the midst of his worst big league season, is due $106 million through his age-36 season—the Angels are headed for an extremely important offseason that is likely to be challenging in terms of a limited payroll and limited trade pieces in the minors. 

General manager Jerry Dipoto, assuming he still has a job after a very disappointing season, will have to be creative if he wants to improve this ballclub.

It’s hard to do any worse than he did last offseason, when he took on the risk of signing Hamilton, signed Joe Blanton to a two-year, $16.5 million deal—Blanton was recently banished to the bullpen after pitching poorly out of the rotation—and acquired Tommy Hanson from the Braves for reliever Jordan Walden—Hanson was recently optioned to the minors while Walden has been a key component on a very good Braves team. 

In addition, Dipoto‘s two big bullpen acquisitions haven’t worked out due to injuries—Ryan Madson never made it back from Tommy John surgery before being released; Sean Burnett has pitched just 9.2 innings and is out for the season with an elbow injury. And to cap it off, Ervin Santana, who was traded to Kansas City for a 27-year-old minor league relief pitcher, has been Cy Young-caliber in 2013. 

Pointing out the few minor roster moves that have worked out won’t make things look much better. In order to make the Angels a playoff contender once again in 2014, they’ll need to utilize the few resources they have and get as much value out of them as possible. 

Despite the overall struggles of the pitching staff, three-fifths of the starting five—Jered Weaver, C.J. Wilson, Garrett Richards—are pretty solid. Fixing the back of the rotation on a limited budget isn’t impossible.  

Making up for Pujols’ decline and the production he’s given them versus what they’re paying him is the bigger challenge. Here’s my suggestion on how they can make up the difference on a shoestring budget and with no farm system talent to deal.

Trade Howie Kendrick to Free Up Salary and Clear Spot For Grant Green

Could it be that Dipoto fleeced the division rival A’s by trading a light-hitting third baseman for a guy with the potential to be a very good one? Grant Green (pictured), who was drafted as a shortstop and has played all over the diamond before settling into second base this season, has been on fire (14-for-51, 2 2B, 5 BB) since being acquired for Alberto Callaspo at the trade deadline. 

Callaspo is doing a fine job in a part-time role with Oakland (.785 OPS in 17 games), but he was miscast as an everyday third baseman in Anaheim, and the Angels needed to shed his $4.875 million salary for 2014.

Not only will they save close to $19 million over the next two seasons by trading away Kendrick, but they could also add a starting pitcher or a couple of prospects in the deal—it’s tough to find a match for a team in need of a second baseman and that is willing to give up a quality third baseman in return. 

Trading Kendrick to the Dodgers, who were reportedly in talks with the Angels last month regarding the second baseman, according to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, could be revisited. While top pitching prospect Zach Lee was part of the trade package being discussed, there’s a chance that the insistence of his inclusion might be the reason why the deal didn’t happen. 

If the Angels took back Stephen Fife (2.47 ERA in nine MLB starts) instead to fill the fifth spot in their rotation and asked for the team’s top outfield prospect, Joc Pederson, who likely won’t make it to the majors on a Dodgers team deep in outfield talent, we could have a deal.  

Trade Peter Bourjos for Chase Headley

With Pederson on board, the Angels would be free to shop Peter Bourjos with Mike Trout moving over to center field. While he’s been injured for much of the season, the 26-year-old Bourjos has been productive when on the field. 

In 45 games, Bourjos has a .780 OPS with three homers and four stolen bases. If he can stay healthy, a team could get a terrific defensive center fielder with an ability to hit 10-15 homers and steal 25-30 bases. With third base the target, the Angels need to find out if the Padres are interested in three seasons of Bourjos—he won’t be a free agent until after the 2016 season—in exchange for one season of Chase Headley (pictured).

While the Padres already have an injury-prone Cameron Maybin signed long-term to play center field in San Diego, adding another speedy outfielder like Bourjos could still be a possibility.

Here’s why. The Padres have likely figured out that oft-injured Carlos Quentin isn’t capable of holding up for an entire season in the National League. Moving him to an American League team that will be able to place him in the designated hitter role for a majority of the time makes a lot of sense. They’ll need an outfielder to replace him, and that’s where Bourjos fits in. 

With an alignment of Maybin, Bourjos and Will Venable, the Padres’ outfield defense could be one of the best in baseball. Losing Headley and Quentin will leave a huge hole in the offense, but neither player factors into the future plans of the team. How they replace the loss of offense in 2014 is another story. 

As for the Angels, they might have to include a mid-level prospect to get the deal done, but the 29-year-old Headley‘s value has plummeted with his subpar season. It might not take much to get him. His projected $9-10 million salary for 2014 is likely affordable with Kendrick and Callaspo off the books.

Sign Eric Chavez in Case Pujols Misses Time

A native San Diegan, Eric Chavez (pictured) could get closer to home by signing with the Angels this winter after two consecutive productive seasons (.855 OPS, 25 HR in 2012-13) as a part-time player for the Yankees and Diamondbacks.

Because the 35-year-old still can’t shake the injury-prone tag—he’s been on the disabled list multiple times over the past few seasons—coming back to the American League is likely so he can log at-bats from the designated hitter spot. It’s also the reason his salary demands will stay low enough for the Angels to afford him and the reason he won’t be offered a full-time starting gig elsewhere. 

Resulting Lineup Projection

1. Mike Trout, CF
2. Chase Headley, 3B
3. Albert Pujols, DH
4. Josh Hamilton, RF
5. Mark Trumbo, 1B
6. Joc Pederson, LF
7. Grant Green, 2B
8. Erick Aybar, SS
9. Chris Iannetta, C

Bench
Hank Conger, C
Eric Chavez, 3B/1B
Andrew Romine, IF
J.B. Shuck, OF

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There are several teams on the cusp of falling out of playoff contention, which is always fun as it opens up the potential for even more trade rumors.

Seven teams—the Houston Astros, Milwaukee Brewers, Chicago Cubs, Miami Marlins, New York Mets, Minnesota Twins and Chicago White Sox—are currently more than 10 games back of a playoff spot, a very tough spot from which to bounce back. More could join them soon in the land of non-contenders. 

Teams like the Blue Jays (43-45, lost nine of last 14), Giants (40-48, lost 12 of their last 14), Padres (40-50, 10 consecutive losses), Rockies (43-47, lost 14 of their last 20) and Royals (42-44, lost 34 of their last 59) will need to make a decision of whether they are buyers or sellers in the next few weeks. If they play any worse than they have lately, veteran players from those teams could be shopped to contenders before the trade deadline.

Here are seven of the more interesting names that could be part of your daily Hot Stove news in the near future.

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Carlos Marmol was a big distraction for the Chicago Cubs before being demoted Tuesday.

Despite the success he showed as the Cubs closer in 2010, Marmol started to show signs he couldn’t get the job done in 2011 when he had 10 blown saves.

The last two years have been much of the same, as fans were always on edge when he came into games.

Besides that, he was a distraction to his teammates:

Hoyer says marmol had become a distraction, “kind of a sideshow” for teammates.

— Gordon Wittenmyer (@GDubCub) June 25, 2013

Whether it was a distraction of him constantly blowing leads or the lack of confidence teammates had in him, Marmol wasn’t good for the clubhouse.

No matter what happened, Marmol finally became more of a distraction than the Cubs wanted to deal with and he was demoted.

But Marmol hasn’t been the only distraction in Major League Baseball this season.

Here’s a look at five other players who are distractions to their teams.

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In a season where the prospect of competing is long gone by the month of May, it is hard to imagine the Chicago Cubs as “buyers” as we head into the summer months. However, Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal speculates that the San Diego Padres third baseman Chase Headley would be “a perfect fit for the Cubs.” 

While it appears that no basis for this speculation exists, a Headley-to-Chicago deal is rather thought-provoking.

Headley will turn 29 this week and the Padres organization isn’t sure if they can secure Headley to a long-term deal. For a club which has the sixth-lowest payroll in Major League Baseball, the tantalizing third baseman may prove to be more valuable than they can afford.

In his column, Rosenthal points out that the Cubs have three prospects that could possibly be moved in such a deal. Shortstop Javier Baez and outfielders Jorge Soler and Albert Amora are the most coveted prospects within the Cubs organization. 

According to Baseball Prospectus, the three aforementioned prospects rank within the top 36 of all MLB prospects (No. 18 Almora, No. 20 Baez, No. 36 Soler).

To make matters more complicated, the Padres have been on a hot streak of late. They have won nine of their last 12 games while averaging nearly five runs per outing. San Diego is now just five games behind first place in the National League West division. 

The NL West is too challenging for the Padres to maintain their current stretch though. They are still in fourth place and four games below .500. Like the Cubs, they are expected to finish last in their division. 

A Headley deal to the Cubs may not favor the third baseman though. While nothing has been publicly declared, many are assuming he wants to play for a contender. Currently, the Cubs look like they won’t be contending for a few more years.

On the other hand, Headley may be better off playing in Wrigley Field sooner rather than later.

With first baseman Anthony Rizzo and shortstop Starlin Castro, Headley would be the critical third cog to a core of players which may put the Cubs back into contention as early as next season. 

Headley certainly wouldn’t be the solution to all that plagues the Cubs but it would be a turn in the right direction. A trio of Rizzo, Castro and Headley would entice free agents to play in Wrigley Field.

Relatively speaking, the Cubs are closer to competing than the Padres. The Padres have seen their best pitching prospects get riddled with injuries. The bats in their farm system are solid but the addition of an Almora, Baez or Soler will certainly uplift the future outlook.

Such a scenario makes sense for both clubs since Headley gives the Cubs some much-needed pop in their lineup. The Padres will benefit because the return in talent and potential is much larger from the Cubs than any other organization may be willing to pay.

Leading up to the July 31st non-waiver trade deadline, expect the Cubs to be in on the action for Headley. It only makes sense.

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I’ve recently taken a look at some starting pitchers and relievers who could be available by midseason, assuming their team is out of contention or just has a lot of depth and is looking to upgrade in another area.

The names mentioned weren’t huge names, mostly because teams we assume will be bad typically don’t have deep pitching staffs. When it comes to position players, though, there are several names that will not only be fun to talk about as the rumor mill gets going, but that could also make a lot of sense for teams to move before August 1.

Hunter Pence, Hanley Ramirez and Shane Victorino were three of the biggest names changing teams in July 2012. Here are the top six players most likely to be available this July.

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David Wright could be out for the rest of the World Baseball Classic with sore ribs, and Team USA officials already have the perfect replacement and another great young third baseman on their radar in Chase Headley of the San Diego Padres.

Speaking to Bill Center of the San Diego Union Tribune, Headley did indeed say that he has been contacted about joining the team should they advance to the finals by defeating Puerto Rico tonight.

“Team USA reached out to see if I was interested,” said Headley. “I am. It’s always been a dream of mine to play for Team USA. Obviously, I hate to see someone get hurt.”

No matter how you look at it, Wright’s skills and leadership make him a huge loss for both Team USA and his New York Mets. Prior to his injury, he was batting .438 and leading the United States with one home run and 10 RBI.

Playing for the Mets in 2012, he hit .306 with 21 home runs and 93 RBI, plus 15 steals while also representing the National League at the All-Star Game. In every way, shape and form, losing him would be a terrible blow to Team USA’s WBC championship aspirations.

Unless, of course, Headley replaces him on the roster.

Not only is Headley two years younger than Wright, at 28 years old, but he also gives Team USA a fourth switch-hitter in addition to Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino and Ben Zobrist.

He hasn’t yet shown as keen an ability to hit for average as well as Wright does, but just take a look at his numbers from spring training this season.

Through 10 Grapefruit League games, Headley is hitting .440 with three RBI and two extra-base hits. The power he showcased last season has yet to make an appearance, but that is another reason why Team USA should bring him aboard should they advance to the next round.

Hitting for power is one thing that Headley does just as well as Wright, if not better. Last season, he hit .286 with a career-best 31 home runs, 115 RBI and .376 OBP. 13 of those long balls came in pitcher-friendly Petco Park, so it’s clear just how powerful Headley‘s swing is.

That all being said, there is really no reason why Headley should not replace Wright on Team USA’s roster should the United States defeat Puerto Rico tonight.

Wright was the heart and soul of the team’s offense, and bringing in Headley to take over is a far better move than rolling the dice with utility infielder Willie Bloomquist or moving Ryan Braun to the hot corner—where he has not played since committing 26 errors there during his rookie season in 2007.

The fact of the matter is that Headley is one of the best young third basemen in MLB right now and if Team USA makes the next round, bringing him aboard would be the best move in order to ensure a potential WBC championship.

If anyone’s going to replace David Wright, there really isn’t anyone better than him.

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