As the 2022 MLB Winter Meetings were taking place in San Diego last week, several free agents came off the board. Among them was Andrew Heaney, who enjoyed a bounce-back season with the Los Angeles Dodgers that saw him post some of the best marks of his career.
Despite missing some time because of shoulder trouble, the left-hander went 4-4 with a 3.10 ERA, 3.75 FIP, 1.09 WHIP and 13.6 strikeouts per nine over 16 games (14 starts).
Heaney drew interest from a number of teams, including from the New York Mets and Toronto Blue Jays. He additionally was said to have received several contract offers prior to signing with the Texas Rangers.
While Heaney had plenty of options to choose from, his preference was re-signing with the Dodgers, per Jon Heyman of the New York Post:
Andrew Heaney, who tossed a nice 75 innings this past season, has a few three-year offers and is looking for a fourth. He’d like to go back to the Dodgers if he can, but they appear to be behind in the bidding.
It isn’t surprising that Heaney watned to stay with the Dodgers, as they helped revitalize his career after a disastrous 2021 season behind a new pitch mix.
However, with the amount of clubs showing interest in Heaney, it’s believed his asking price went beyond what the Dodgers were comfortable of meeting.
To this point in the offseason, L.A. has re-signed Clayton Kershaw but saw Tyler Anderson depart for a three-year deal with the Los Angeles Angels. With Heaney now joining Anderson in having moved on, the Dodgers remain in search of starting pitching.
Dodgers pitching options to replace Andrew Heaney
The Dodgers conceivably could shift their focus to Carlos Rodón, or some of the mid-tier free-agent starters behind him such as Chris Bassit. They reportedly have interest in Seth Lugo for a starting role despite the fact that he’s primarily been used as a reliever of late.
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