San Diego Padres Chase Headley diagnosed with Grade 1 calf strain

Jennifer Stewart-USA TODAY Sports

San Diego,CA- San Diego Padres Chase Headley had an MRI exam on his strained calf Monday afternoon and the results Tuesday morning confirmed the original diagnosis of a Grade 1 calf strain, that should keep Headley out for about 2-3 weeks according to Padres.com Corey Brock.

The complete diagnosis according to Padres.com Corey Brock is a Grade 1 strain of the right gastroc (gastrocnemius muscle), one of three major muscles in the calf.

With Headley out expect Alexi Amarista, Ryan Jackson, Alberto Gonzalez and Top Shortstop prospect Jace Peterson to see playing time at third base according to San Diego Padres manager Bud Black.

"“We’ll mix and match over at third,” Black said. “It’s good for those guys. It will be great for those guys to get exposed to third base. They’ll get some at-bats, some playing time.”"

According to Headey, he strained his right calf Saturday morning while performing running drills.When asked about the incident and the severity of the injury, Headley had this to say…

"“It occurred doing run downs today, just strained my right calf a bit… Will know more in next couple days.” “It’s frustrating. You come to camp. You feel good. You put in work in the off-season … and you strain a muscle.”“I’d rather have it happen now than in three weeks… It’s sore right now… It’s nothing crazy.”“It’s not something I see being a huge issue.”"

This season is a big year for Headley, as after finishing fifth in the National League MVP voting in 2012, when Headley batted .286 with 31 home runs and 115 RBI.  Headley struggled mightily last season, batting only .250 with 13 home runs and 50 RBI. with most struggles at the plate being due to his mass amount of injuries throughout the season. Headley was injured last season during Spring Training when he injured his thumb and was forced to miss the first 14 games of the season and then had to undergo surgery this off-season to repair a tear in his right knees MCL.