Brian Cashman says Chase Headley “wants to be a Yankee”

Free agent third baseman Chase Headley is said to be close to making a decision, perhaps within a day or two, and Yankees general manager Brian Cashman dropped an interesting quote on NBC-New York yesterday by saying:

I do know this. Chase wants to be a Yankee.

Cashman went on to say:

He was a tremendous acquisition in the second half. A great leader. A tremendous defender. A switch-hitter with great discipline. He kind of checks off every box that we’d like a prototypical Yankee to look like. If we can find common ground, I’d like to have him man third base as we move forward.

Previous reports have at least one team offering Headley a four-year deal worth around $65 million, but it’s unclear if the Yankees are willing to offer something similar.

Headley hasn’t been able to duplicate his production from a breakout 2012 season, but he has posted a solid .725 OPS in two years since then despite calling pitcher-friendly Petco Park home for most of that time. By comparison, Pablo Sandoval has a .748 OPS during the past two seasons. Sandoval got a five-year, $90 million deal from the Red Sox.

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