Arguably the biggest focus for the Los Angeles Dodgers this offseason will be bolstering a starting rotation that saw Max Scherzer and Clayton Kershaw officially become free agents last week.
Even as the possibility of a lockout looms, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman expressed a willingness to reach contract agreements with players before the current collective bargaining agreement (CBA) expires next month.
That transpired this week as the Dodgers signed Andrew Heaney to a one-year contract. The left-hander struggled mightily with the L.A. Angels and New York Yankees this past season, but many evaluators view him as a bounce-back candidate.
According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, Heaney received offers from nearly a half dozen teams before agreeing to sign with the Dodgers:
The Dodgers, who reached agreement Monday with Andrew Heaney on a one-year, $8.5 million deal, pending a physical, were one of more than 10 teams to make him an offer, according to a source with knowledge of his negotiations.
While Heaney’s numbers don’t look impressive on the surface — he went a combined 8-9 with a 5.83 ERA, 1.32 WHIP and two home runs per nine innings in 30 games (23 starts) for the Angels and Yankees — it’s easy to see why so many teams attempted to sign him.
The 30-year-old struck out 10.4 batters per nine innings and finished in the 91st percentile in chase rate. Heaney’s four-seam fastball spin rate was in the 90th percentile, which put him in the same territory as Lucas Giolito and Josh Hader.
The Dodgers have a history of succeeding with helping pitchers revive themselves and hope a few tweaks will help the former No. 9 draft pick realize his potential.
Heaney signing represents reunion for Dodgers
The Dodgers’ reported signing of Heaney marks a reunion as the club previously acquired him as part of a trade with the Miami Marlins in December 2014.
Heaney’s time with the organization, however, lasted all but a few hours as he was then traded to the Angels for Howie Kendrick.
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