Heyman
There are strong indications the Yankees may have interest in bringing back Chase Headley, and if so, that what would appear to signify real concerns over Alex Rodriguez's ability to be the team's starting third baseman going forward.
Should the Yankees sign Headley (or someone else for third base), it would seem that Rodriguez's more likely main role would be that of a designated hitter.
The idea to re-sign Headley makes perfect sense in that it's hard to know whether Rodriguez will be able to man the demanding position on a full-time basis after a full year off on repaired hips in the year he will turn 40. However, a DH role would seem to represent something of a departure from manager Joe Girardi's public pronouncements that he expects A-Rod to be the team's third baseman in 2015.
Headley has told people around the Yankees that he never would have envisioned he'd enjoy playing in New York before going there and actually enjoying it following his trade from the Padres.
Headley will benefit in free agency from no qualifying offer (players traded in mid-year are ineligible to be offered the qualifying offer). But after posting only decent offensive numbers since his huge second half in 2012, he also shouldn't expect to get a monster multi-year deal at this point, certainly nothing close to the nine-figure number he might have approached had he stayed within the 2012 range. He led the NL in RBI that year.
Headley played excellent defense for the Yankees, who have infield issues galore. Six years after having all-time great infield productivity en route to their 2009 World Series title, the Yankees have problems throughout the infield. There are openings at shortstop and second base, and first baseman Mark Teixeira has been breaking down and slowing down in recent years.