Yankees scouting Padres third baseman Chase Headley regularly

As the calender flips to July, the trading deadline is just a few weeks off. The Yankees, who are 41-40 midway through the season, need help all around the diamond if they want any chance of making the playoffs in Derek Jeter's finally season. The starting rotation, the bullpen and the infield are the main area's of concern right now for a team that is still very much in the American League East race.

According to FOX Sports' Jon Morosi and Ken Rosenthal, the Yankees have been scouting San Diego Padres third base Chase Headley "regularly," which isn't much of a surprise given their need for another infield bat and that they have been seemingly interested in him for the past couple of years.

Headley, who had a breakout season for the Padres back in 2012, hitting career-highs in homeruns (31), RBIs (115), batting average (.289) and slugging percentage (.875), has really struggles at the plate this season, hitting a terribly low .201 with six homeruns and 23 RBIs this season.

Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union Tribune reported on Friday that the Blue Jays are also interested in acquiring Headley, who admitted on Tuesday that he expects to have to deal with the herniated disc in his back for the rest of the season. He was given epidural last weekend, but has since been back in the Padres' lineup. There would be some risk in getting him with those issues, so waiting to see how that plays out could be key.

I don't really mind the first half numbers, and think that with a change of scenery, the Yankees could spark a turnaround for Headley, who is a free-agent after this season. He would be an immediate upgrade over Kelly Johnson, who is hitting hit .224 this season.

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