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Yankees trade Chase Headley to Padres in money-saving move

Mike Oz
Chase Headley is headed back to the team that drafted him, as the Yankees work a deal with the Padres. (Getty Images)
Chase Headley is headed back to the team that drafted him, as the Yankees work a deal with the Padres. (Getty Images)

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — The New York Yankees are already looking to save money to help pay for their expensive offseason.

The Yankees, according to various reports Tuesday, have struck a deal with the San Diego Padres to trade third baseman Chase Headley back to the team that drafted him. Headley, 33, is owed $13 million this season, his last before hitting free agency. The Padres are also getting Bryan Mitchell, a 26-year-old pitcher with a 4.94 career ERA. This comes a day after the Yankees introduced $300 million slugger Giancarlo Stanton, whom they acquired from the Miami Marlins.

The Yankees are getting back 28-year-old Jabari Blash, a 6-foot-5 outfielder who may match Stanton and Aaron Judge in height but he only hit .213 with five homers in 61 games last season.

Joel Sherman of the New York Post was first to report the deal was happening. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic had the Yankees’ return first.

The Yankees are trying to make all their parts fit together in what’s already been a banner offseason by acquiring Stanton, the reigning NL MVP. Headley gives them some immediate salary relief, but certainly not the $25M-$32M that he’ll be making annual until at least 2017. It’s mostly a desirable way to drop an expendable player.

There will certainly be more decisions to come for the Yankees, whether it’s re-signing Todd Frazier to play third, finding someone else in the free-agent market or changing positions of some of their prospects.

Headley, who had mostly been a disappointment in New York since signing a free-agent deal there in 2014, had one of his better seasons in the Bronx in 2017. He hit .273 with 12 homers and 61 RBIs. The Padres are also keen on Mitchell, whose Yankees career wasn’t too spectacular. According to Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune, the Padres plan to give Mitchell a chance to make their rotation.

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Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at mikeozstew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!