Andrew

Heaney

The 34-year-old southpaw pitched for six different teams (Marlins, Angels, Yankees, Dodgers, Rangers and Pirates) across his 12 major league seasons, compiling a 56-72 record, 4.57 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and a 1156/339 K/BB ratio over 1136 2/3 innings. We wish him the best of luck in the next stage of his life.

Heaney heads back to the minors as part of Los Angeles’ stay-ready group after allowing three runs over two innings on Saturday in relief. The 34-year-old’s return to Los Angeles didn’t go smoothly, but he could be an option during the postseason if injuries decimate their middle relief mix.

The Dodgers signed Heaney to a minor league contract at the start of September to provide some extra pitching depth. He’ll likely eat some innings out of the bullpen at some point over the weekend in a pair of meaningless contests against the Mariners. Will Klein was optioned to Triple-A to clear a spot on the Dodgers’ active roster.

Heaney will head to Triple-A for now, but he’ll be postseason eligible. He was recently released by the Pirates after posting a 5.39 ERA in 23 starts and three relief appearances.

The 34-year-old southpaw had been designated for assignment earlier in the week after giving up five runs over 2/3 of an inning in an appearance out of the Pirates’ bullpen. With so many teams starved for rotation depth, there’s a chance that he could latch on elsewhere in the coming days.

Heaney gave up five runs over two-thirds of an inning Monday in his second relief appearance after being moved to the pen by the Pirates. While there’s definitely some financial motivation for the Pirates here, in that Heaney was in line to collect probably $500,000 in bonuses if he remained a starter, it’s not like he didn’t deserve to lose his spot; he had an 8.19 ERA in his last 10 starts before being bumped to the pen. He departs now with a 5.39 ERA in 120 1/3 innings overall.

Mlodzinski has been able to work multiple innings out of the bullpen, so he should be able to handle a few frames before giving way to a pitcher. One of those hurlers could be Andrew Heaney with Heaney being demoted to the bullpen earlier in the week.

Pirates interim manager Don Kelly made it official that Heaney is headed to the bullpen after being lit up for six runs — five earned — over four innings earlier this week against the division-leading Brewers, which allows the Pirates to pivot to some of their younger alternatives. It’s unclear how they’ll fill his rotation spot on Sunday, but top prospect Bubba Chandler is not expected to be called up, according to Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

The 34-year-old left-hander walked two batters on the evening while striking out three. After serving up a solo home to Brice Turang in the opening inning, Heaney got blasted for four more runs in the third inning to break the game wide open, including a solo shot by Christian Yelich. He gave up another run in the fourth before mercifully exiting. Heaney got just four whiffs on 90 pitches on the night, registering a CSW of 24 percent. He’ll try to get his season back on track as he carries a 4.99 ERA, 1.32 WHIP and an 83/38 K/BB ratio (119 innings) into Sunday’s battle against the Cubs in Chicago.

Heaney left with a 2-1 lead, which would be frustrating if the Giants wouldn’t have come back and won this game. The left-hander struck out only one batter, but also gave up just two hits; one of them a solo homer from Jerar Encarnacion. Heaney was outstanding to begin the year, and while this was closer to that version, he’s still someone who is hard to trust in fantasy circles. That applies for next week’s scheduled tilt against the Brewers.