The San Diego Union-Tribune tells us that the Blue Jays have been inquiring about Chase Headley.
At least one team - the Toronto Blue Jays - has discussed acquiring the Padres' third baseman, multiple baseball sources have confirmed. Of particular interest this weekend to the Blue Jays and several teams that have checked on Headley's availability - many of whom will watch him closely this weekend - is the herniated disc that required an epidural injection last week.
This herniated disc thing worries me, but, when he's healthy, he's pretty good. He hit .286/.376/.498 with 31 home runs in 2012. This year hasn't been going as well, he's hitting .198/.286/.328, in 58 games, but then it would be tough to play with a herniated disc. I would think the Jays would like to watch him, for a couple of weeks, to see if his neck is better, if he can hit.
His defense is pretty good, FanGraphs has him at a 7.9 UZR/150 for his career.
Picking him up would mean that Brett Lawrie would be our second baseman, when he returns from injury, which would be ok by me for the rest of this season. I'd like to move him back to third next year.
Headley is being paid $10.5 million this year so we'd have to pick up $5 million in salary, but the good part is that he wouldn't cost us much in prospects. The Padres would be happy just to get rid of his salary.
This bit interested me:
At the very least, a healthy Headley presents a defensive upgrade over switch-hitter Juan Francisco, who has hit 12 homers but is batting just .164 in June. For Headley, Toronto's home park, the Rogers Centre, would provide a considerably safer landing spot than pitcher-friendly Petco Park.
I'm pretty sure Francisco isn't a switch-hitter, but Headley would be a huge upgrade on defense.