Chase Headley

The New York Yankees bolstered their chances of reaching the 2014 MLB playoffs by acquiring third baseman Chase Headley from the San Diego Padres.

The Padres confirmed the swap.

Jack Curry of the YES Network first broke word of the deal Tuesday:

While Major League Baseball's All-Stars take the field on Tuesday night to celebrate the game, there are a lot of players anxiously waiting to find out where they will be after the July 31 trade deadline.

This is the time of year where fans and players are in perfect sync, pulling their hair out and biting their nails trying to determine if the latest rumor being floated out there is true or just due diligence by the team.

Since getting swept by Joe Torre and the New York Yankees in the 1998 World Series, the San Diego Padres have only played playoff ball twice.

Even on those two occasions that they managed to take an underpaid club and over-perform enough to swing the bats in October, they’ve only been victorious once.

On Tuesday, the Padres placed third baseman Chase Headley on revocable waivers, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. This is probably not big news. But if he passes through unclaimed, it can certainly be.

If the owner of your favorite baseball team has a "win at all cost" attitude, that's usually a good thing, right? Yes! Being aggressive and spending money has paid off for many eventual World Series champions. But it's also resulted in some very dire situations, notably in the case of Arte Moreno and the Los Angeles Angels. 

There are several teams on the cusp of falling out of playoff contention, which is always fun as it opens up the potential for even more trade rumors.

Seven teams—the Houston Astros, Milwaukee Brewers, Chicago Cubs, Miami Marlins, New York Mets, Minnesota Twins and Chicago White Sox—are currently more than 10 games back of a playoff spot, a very tough spot from which to bounce back. More could join them soon in the land of non-contenders. 

Carlos Marmol was a big distraction for the Chicago Cubs before being demoted Tuesday.

I’ve recently taken a look at some starting pitchers and relievers who could be available by midseason, assuming their team is out of contention or just has a lot of depth and is looking to upgrade in another area.

David Wright could be out for the rest of the World Baseball Classic with sore ribs, and Team USA officials already have the perfect replacement and another great young third baseman on their radar in Chase Headley of the San Diego Padres.

Anytime a young player makes his way toward his first crack at free agency, there is no doubt a sense of urgency about getting a big deal done.

San Diego Padres third baseman Chase Headley finds himself in that very situation right now, just a year away from free agency.