Padres Assistant GM AJ Hinch Talks About Headley Trade

As noted earlier today, the Padres traded third baseman Chase Headley to the New York Yankees for infielder Yangervis Solarte and right-handed pitcher Rafael De Paula.

Assistant General Manager A.J. Hinch called into the Darren Smith Show on San Diego’s Xtra Sports 1090 to discuss the reasons why the Padres made the trade with the Yankees.

"Hinch stated to Smith, “…it was a topic that needed to be addressed. A number of scenarios were going to happen. There is so much complexity to players that are attacking free agency. We became more comfortable that this was going to be the best interest for everybody.”"

Headley is set to be to a free agent at the end of the year, and his agent mentioned at the start of the season that they would seek around $13 million a year. Despite the Padres’ increasing the payroll to $90 million, there were questions to whether he is worth that kind of money in a market like San Diego. Hinch mentioned the monetary part:

"“Sure. Financial relief where we can take that money and apply it to different areas of our business. Certainly not the most important analysis.”Hinch went on to add, “The July 31st deadline is a deadline. As we surveyed the landscape and took the best offer we felt that this was the best offer that propels us in moving forward to change the dynamic makeup of our team. Feel like we’re getting Solarte in a good time in his career.”"

The Padres’ organization believes they got the right players for Headley, with the team looking to rebuild and utilize the the finances to bring in other players in the off-season. Hinch went on to explain that Solarte is a switch-hitting infielder and a good hitter who can move around the infield a little bit with his versatility. De Paula will immediately report to the Class-A Lake Elsinore storm and jump in that rotation and continue to develop.

With the trading deadline approaching, it appears Headley won’t be the last Padres’ player to switch uniforms. The team is looking to cut loose players to start the development moving forward this year and the 2015 season.