Indians Trade Target: Chase Headley

One in a series of articles previewing the upcoming trade deadline. Previous entries:

An argument to make a trade | Valuing Cleveland's Tradable Assets

Trade Targets: Carlos Quentin | Ryan Dempster

Next up in the Showcase Showdown: Chase Headley, switch-hitting 3B-OF for the San Diego Padres. Professional insider Jon Heyman is just one of the writers indicating that the Indians have interest in Headley.

Overview

Headley was a second-round draft pick of the Padres in 2005 coming out of the Univerity of Tennessee and was fast tracked to the bigs, getting his first cup of coffee with the Padres in 2007 after destroying AA. He didn't stick until 2009, playing left field while LGFT Kevin Kouzmanoff held down third. Kouzmanoff was dealt in the offseason (with Eric Sogard for Scott Hairston and (wait for it.......Aaron Cunningham!)), primarily to make room at third base for Headley.

In his age 28 season, Headley is having his best season, with an OPS+ of 123, which would tie him for second on the Indians with Travis Hafner, trailing only Choo (143).

And now the numbers:

There are two sets of additional splits worth considering for Headley. The first is his platoon splits for 2012:

The second, and the reason why a lot of people think he'd be better off playing somewhere else, is his home and away splits for 2012:

Jedd Gyorko, a 23-year-old 3b has been slugging in Tucson, making Headley expendable.

Contract Status

Currently making $3.475 million and under team control through 2014.

Roster Fit

He could fit in either at 3B, especially with Chisenhall essentially done for the season, which would likely limit both Hannahan's and Lopez' playing time. He could also play left field, plugging that gaping sinkhole and making Johnny Damon expendable. Or, he could do some of both, rotating between the two. He would also likely make Chisenhall offseason trade bait.

Estimated Cost

I see no reason to peg the cost much differently than what Ryan estimated that Quentin would cost:

RHP Jeanmar Gomez OR Zach McAllister

-or-

LHP Scott Barnes AND RHP Cody Allen

San Diego needs pitching - I mean for crying out loud they've given Kip Wells starts this year. We might find some interest in moving Huff in this deal - he's the kind of fly ball pitcher who could thrive in Petco. Headley will likely bring a good haul for the Padres - he plays a difficult position and he will be under team control for two more full seasons after this one.

In dealing with San Diego, one must remember that the ownership of the franchise right now is up in the air. MLB owners will meet on August 16 to consider a new ownership group for the team. It might not be in the best interest of the franchise to be seen selling off popular players for yet another rebuild just before new ownership takes over.