In a span of 30 pitches, a three-run Yankees lead had turned into a tie game. Andrew Heaney, who entered to pitch the seventh against the Orioles on Sept. 5, started the inning by hitting a batter then he allowed three consecutive hits, recorded an out, and surrendered another baserunner before getting pulled for Wandy Peralta — who proceeded to allow an inherited run, and the game-winning run, to score the next batter.
Sequences like that captured the decline of Heaney with the Yankees after the team acquired him before the trade deadline, sending over pitching prospects Janson Junk and Elvis Peguero to the Angels in exchange for the left-handed pitcher to boost the back end of their starting rotation. Heaney proceeded to log a 2-2 record with the Yankees across 12 appearances, including five starts, and finished with a 7.32 ERA in 35 2/3 innings.
He threw six or more innings just twice, both of which resulted in wins, and allowed 29 home runs in his combined 129 2/3 innings with the Angels and Yankees. Still, Heaney cashed in – he will head back to California after agreeing to a one-year, $8.5 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Dodgers were one of more than 10 teams who reached out to Heaney after he became a free agent, . Teams were interested in his 26.9% strikeout rate, along with spin rates in the 90th percentile for his fastball and the 67th percentile for his curveball. He reflects a similar pitching profile to free agent Robbie Ray, a finalist for the AL Cy Young Award after a season where he finished with a 2.84 ERA and 248 strikeouts for the Blue Jays.
The belief is that the 30-year-old Heaney is capable of having a similar rebound next year because of those numbers, and he’ll add depth to the Dodgers’ pitching staff. Clayton Kershaw wasn’t extended a qualifying offer and became a free agent for the first time in his career, and Max Scherzer’s contract has expired, too.
For the Yankees, Heaney was an in-season move, complementing the offensive splashes via trades for Anthony Rizzo and Joey Gallo, that turned into a bust. But the Dodgers, along with at least a third of MLB teams, think that the potential is there for Heaney to develop into more.