The Los Angeles Angels are making moves at the Winter Meetings.
The Angels are reportedly close to acquiring Chase Headley from the San Diego Padres to fill their need at third base.
The #Angels are on the verge of acquiring a third baseman once they complete Ian Kinsler deal and have shown strong interest in #Padres Chase Headley
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) December 14, 2017
This move would come hours after they made another trade to acquire Ian Kinsler from the Tigers to play second base.
Luis Valbuena was slated to play third base for the Angels in 2018, and he was coming off a season in which he batted .199, so the need for an upgrade was clear. Their other third baseman last season, Yunel Escobar, is a free agent.
The Angels were expected to be in the mix for Mike Moustakas, but acquiring Headley would almost certainly take them out of the running for Moose.
What’s interesting is that Headley was just acquired by San Diego this week in a trade with the Yankees. Padres GM A.J. Preller let Headley know that he could be traded.
Preller said he told Chase Headley to be ready to go opening day for the Padres, but also explained they'll "figure out is there space for everybody, is there opportunity for everybody. I was very honest, telling him we’re going to talk to other clubs as well."
— Dennis Lin (@sdutdennislin) December 12, 2017
Headley, 33, batted .273 with a .758 OPS last season. That marked his highest batting average since 2012. Headley is set to become a free agent after the 2018 season
