Headley to Begin Rehab Assignment Next Week

Apr 19, 2014; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Padres third baseman Chase Headley (7) on deck prior to his at bat during the sixth inning against the San Francisco Giants at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

Padres third baseman Chase Headley has been on the DL since he suffered a calf strain running to first against the Nationals on April 25th. He’s eligible to come off the DL on May 9th, and is almost ready to begin his rehab assignment.  He is scheduled to join Triple-A El Paso and play a few games to get his legs back under him.

So what does this mean to the Padres? In short it means they are close to getting one of their best hitters back into their lineup. Since Headley was placed on the DL the Padres are only averaging 2 runs a game and have been shut out twice. Adding Headley’s bat back into the lineup could do nothing but help the Padres, even if he was struggling at the time of his injury. He is still an upgrade over the duo of Jace Peterson and Alexi Amarista who have mustered just 4 hits combined in his absence.

This could also be the turning point of the season for Headley. He had been battling little injuries all spring and likely into the season. Getting this time off will have allowed him time to fully recover and finally play at 100% for the first time all season. Don’t expect to see the 2011 Headley right off the bat, but expect him to be better than the .186/.250/.314 hitter we saw for the first month of the season.