"Winning Games" Reason Headley Signed With Yankees

Chase Headley is tired of losing. 

That's the reason he gave when asked Monday why he chose to re-sign with the Yankees for four years and $51 million, in spite of the fact the club's in the midst of its longest playoff drought in over two decades. He said he feels the Yankees grant him a good chance to win, at least compared to his old team the Padres. 

"The first consideration in my decision was winning baseball games and hopefully winning a world championship," Headley told ESPN.com's Wallace Matthews. "I’ve never been in the playoffs in my entire career, so a two-year drought is a lot in New York, but coming from San Diego where we haven’t made the playoffs I thought this was the place that was going to give me the best opportunity, year in and year out, to have a chance to win a championship." 

That logic doesn't appear to make much sense, as the Yankees are coming off their worst year since 1992. They went just 84-78 in 2014, 12 games out of first place. 

Yet Headley seems to genuinely want to play for them, something clearly shown by his recent turning down of a larger offer. 

"We did have a larger offer," he said. "I’m not going to get into specifics. We left some money on the table to be where I wanted to be, and that was New York. It was the best offer for myself and for my family. It was very attractive."

Yankees GM Brian Cashman confirmed Tuesday Alex Rodriguez will be their DH next season, so it's possible part of the attractiveness Headley is referring to has to do with the guarantee he'll start at third base. Prior to his suspension for alleged steroid use last year, Rodriguez manned the hot corner for New York, leading some to think he'd keep the job.

But really, it's not a huge surprise he won't. Headley was an elite defender for the Yankees while Rodriguez was gone last season, and, considering he's 30 and Rodriguez is 39, it's a safe bet he's also a bit more athletic.