Dodgers Helped Andrew Heaney Get to Rangers

Andrew Heaney refined his pitches and learned more about his approach even though injuries impacted his 2022 season.

Andrew Heaney fully acknowledges the past two seasons haven’t been ideal from a career standpoint.

Three teams in two years. Injuries that stole a good portion of last season.

But, as he enters the 2023 season with the Texas Rangers, he feels somewhat reinvented, thanks in part to that journey.

“I’m relishing the opportunity to come and be a factor on this team,” Heaney said recently.

Heaney joins a re-imagined rotation featuring new ace Jacob deGrom, who signed in early December, and Jake Odorizzi, whom the Rangers traded for in November. Jon Gray and Martín Pérez are the holdovers, though Pérez had to agree to a $19.65 million qualifying offer and is only signed through 2023.

In 2021, Heaney started the season with the Los Angeles Angels, but he didn’t end it there. He went 6-7 with a 5.27 ERA with the Angels before being traded to the New York Yankees. There, he went 2-2 with a 7.32 ERA in 12 games (five starts). He said the situation in New York wasn’t “ideal,” but he did get the honor of starting in the Field of Dreams game in Iowa.

Before the postseason, the Yankees designated Heaney for assignment. A month later, the Dodgers scooped him up on a one-year contract.

There, the team’s pitching brain trust — pitching coach Mark Prior and assistant Connor McGuiness — worked extensively with Heaney to put him on a different path.

They helped Heaney refine his pitches, retool his approach and how to get hitters out.

“I really learned a lot about myself, and kind of how to reinvent some of the things that I was doing,” Heaney said.

Unfortunately, he had to wait to implement it. Heaney went 4-4 with a 3.10 ERA in 16 games (14 starts). But he made just four starts in the first four months of the season due to injuries before he returned full-time to the rotation in August.

Despite that, Heaney boasted one of the best strikeout rates in the Majors, recording 13.62 per nine innings, which was the best of his career and second-best among pitchers with a least 70 innings. He struck out 110 and walked just 19.

Why?

“I think the thing for me last year is I know my bread and butter is my fastball,” Heaney said.

As for the rest of his repertoire, Prior and McGuiness helped him refine his slider, something Heaney now calls a “great pitch.” But he operated as a two-pitch pitcher last season and he’s eager to mix in his change-up, even though he knows it may impact his strikeout rate.

“It may actually cut down on the strikeouts a little bit, but you know, getting a few more early outs, getting a little bit more soft contact is something that I'm definitely wanting to work on,” Heaney said.

New Rangers pitching coach Mike Maddux wants pitchers that have at least two pitches they can throw for strikes and aren’t afraid to attack the zone.

If an improved change-up brings more soft contact from hitters, and his other two pitches work as they did late last season, Heaney could be worth the two-year contract the Rangers signed him to.

He’s eager to get started.

“I'm excited to be here and work Mike Maddux and the (coaches) here to really build upon that,” Heaney said.

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You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard

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