Chase Headley Upset With Playing Time but Girardi Justified
A report via the NY Post says that Chase Headley is a bit upset about his (lack of) playing time on the most recent Yankees road trip. Headley, who played just 2 of the 6 West Coast games, was replaced in the lineup with streaking Ronald Torreyes. 'Toe', as Joe Girardi refers to him, finished the road trip 9-for-16 including his first career home run. Headley went 1-for-8 while battling through a sore Achilles.
“It is what it is,” Headley said. “You can’t play when you’re not in there and as an everyday player, I think the more you don’t play, the harder it gets. Hopefully I get a chance to get back in there soon and get on a little bit of a run again.”
After Chase Headley's abysmal start to the season that took him until May 12 to notch an extra base hit, he has actually had a semi-productive couple of months. Since June 1, Chase is hitting .264/.337/.432 -- not great by any means, but not bad enough to stick out in a lineup that was struggling so mightily. A lot has changed since June 1 however. The Yankees are clearly moving in a new direction, a direction that does not include overpaid 32-year old's that can only muster a .717 OPS (Headley ranks 22nd out of 23 third baseman in all of baseball for OPS). Since the beginning of August, the Yankees have shed previous everyday veterans Carlos Beltran and Alex Rodriguez, and infused the lineup with rookies Gary Sanchez, Aaron Judge, and Tyler Austin. Despite Headley's tolerable numbers, he does not provide the Yankees with anything special; he's not young, he's not exciting, and his future is only darker than his past. Ronald Torreyes, on the other hand, is 23-years old and provides quality at-bats and defense every time he plays. Is Torreyes the future Yankees third baseman? No. But neither is Chase Headley, despite what the years and dollars on his contract might say.
“It’s a different situation,’’ Headley said. “Until [Girardi] says, ‘Hey, this is what we’re doing,’ then my mindset is ‘I’m playing.’ If that has to be adjusted at some point, I’m assuming I’ll get that talk. That’s not something I’m thinking about right now.”
So even though Girardi has not publicly, or privately, told Headley he is no longer the starting third baseman, Joe is completely justified in his decision to ride the hot hand of Torreyes. As we approach roster expansion that should bring Rob Refsnyder back to the team, it will also allow for Tyler Austin to field some grounders at the hot corner. I expect (and hope) Headley's playing time resembles that of fellow veterans Mark Teixeira and Brian McCann.