Saturday, Padres third baseman Chase Headley injured his left pinkie finger while sliding during a game against the Pirates. Headley wasn't immediately placed on the disabled list, as the Padres wanted to give him a little while to respond, but he met with doctors on Monday, and he's on the DL now. Corey Brock:
#Padres moves; Headley DL, Hawpe to 60 day DL, LeBlanc, Darnell recalled, Frieri on DL with lower back strain.
Headley could be lost for several weeks with the fractured finger, and there's an outside chance he's done for the season. The Padres aren't playing for anything and Headley will recover just fine, but the team still isn't thrilled to be without his .380 OBP. This is, after all, a team with the second-lowest OBP in the National League.
With Headley out, third base will go to some combination of Logan Forsythe, Alberto Gonzalez and James Darnell. Neither Gonzalez nor Forsythe has hit so far in the majors this season, while the 24-year-old Darnell has posted a .988 OPS between double-A and triple-A. Darnell is capable of playing both third base and the corner outfield, and offers the most upside of the three.