PADRES: Headley adjusts stance, seeks to rediscover his dormant power stroke


GLENDALE, Ariz. ---- Chase Headley wants to be the bad guy at the plate, the one opposing pitchers must fear.

The Padres third baseman said Wednesday that he remembers what it felt like to have that reputation, and with the help of the team's hitting coaches he has sought to regain it this spring.

Headley went 2-for-3 with four RBIs on Wednesday as the Padres crushed the Chicago White Sox 13-2.

"I'm trying to get back some rhythm and timing and things I had going a couple of years ago that just allowed me to be dangerous in the zone," Headley said. "I'm not up there trying to hit home runs, but I know what's in there and it really hasn't showed much the last couple of years. If they throw a pitch in that zone, I should be able to hit it and hit it with authority."

Headley hit a career-best .289 in 2011 and had a .399 slugging percentage, his highest output for a full season. But Headley, who arrived in the major leagues with a reputation as a power-hitting run producer, wasn't as keen on his output of four home runs and 44 RBIs.

This winter, Headley told hitting coach Phil Plantier he wanted to return to the hitting style that allowed him to hit 22 home runs between Triple-A Portland and the Padres in 2008. Headley said that means he has moved his hands away from his body while swinging the bat.

That approach produced a two-run double in the fifth inning Wednesday and a two-run home run to deep center in the seventh.

"Chase has set his itinerary of things he wanted to accomplish, and we listened," Plantier said, adding he doesn't comment on hitters' specific adjustments. "He looks good. He's prepared for the season."

This could potentially be Headley's last season in a Padres uniform.

He has two arbitration years remaining and will earn $3.475 million this season, but it's not so much his salary that could get Headley traded. The Padres are flush with third-base prospects, and there are few third basemen available on the trade market. A team source said opposing teams inquired about Headley's availability often during the offseason, though the Padres didn't come close to trading him.

"There's always somebody that wants to be where you are," Headley said. "I've heard people say things that happened in the offseason. But you have no control over it. If I do my job and play the way I'm capable of playing, if it works out here great. But I feel like there are some other teams that would want me, too. Whereas you'd love to be one place your whole career, that's just not a common thing anymore."

Headley hopes he gets back to the place where he can hit for power. Thus far, Padres manager Bud Black said he has seen a more forceful version of Headley this spring.

"He looks to be a little more aggressive throughout the at-bat," Black said. "I think there's intent early in the count. And the bat speed, when he swings, there's an intent to swing hard."


