Andrew Heaney is coming to the Dodgers next season after receiving a $8.5 million contract. A questionable first signing from the Dodgers.
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Andrew Heaney is heading back to Southern California after a rather disappointing spell in New York with the Yankees. He started the year off in Anaheim and was actually considered their ace at the time. Speaks volumes on the Angels pitching staff.
Rough year for Andrew Heaney
Heaney started in all 18 appearances he had with the Angels in 2021 but was extremely ineffective. He posted an ERA of 5.27 in the process. After the Angels traded him to New York, he started 5 games in the 12 appearances that he had.
For the 2021 season, Heaney finished with a 5.83 ERA. He averages 9 hits and 2.8 walks per 9 innings pitched. One thing about Heaney is that when he misses his location, it doesn’t miss the strike zone. He hardly walks batters which usually would mean good things for a pitcher.
Homeruns were too much to control
But Heaney apparently gets too much of the plate. He gave up 29 HRs in 129.2 IP but managed to average 10.4 strikeouts in the process.
Of course the Dodgers have a reputation of finding a diamond in the rough and Heaney will be the perfect test to that methodology. However, this deal appears to be a rather bad one for the Dodgers. The $8.5 million price point that they put on Heaney is considerably high.
Dodgers are coming out as big spenders
If this is a sign of what’s to come then many teams will find themselves overpaying. It is rather odd that the Dodgers committed so much to Andrew Heaney so early in the offseason considering that they are in play for Kershaw, Scherzer and many other younger arms.
Dodgers looking for the next Robbie Ray
Even though the potential upside is high for this deal, it is more likely going to end in the Dodgers trying to offload his contract to another team at the deadline. Or even worse, they might end up just having to release him. This deal has been compared to the likes of Robbie Ray, who broke out of his shell last season with the Blue Jays. The Dodgers are hoping to research and duplicate.
