Dodgers to reunite with veteran Andrew Heaney as left-hander seeks to revert to old form: Source

The Los Angeles Dodgers are signing veteran left-hander Andrew Heaney shortly before the postseason eligibility deadline, a league source confirmed to The Athletic.

Heaney will join the Dodgers be on a minor league deal and report to Triple-A Oklahoma City (where he lives) as the team stockpiles arms for a potential October run. Heaney, 34, was released by the Pittsburgh Pirates last week and reunites with the Dodgers for what will be his third stint in the organization. His first was brief, as he arrived in a December 2014 trade from the Miami Marlins only to get flipped to the Los Angeles Angels for Howie Kendrick hours later.

His second stint in Los Angeles, in 2022, was perhaps Heaney’s most effective season, posting a 3.10 ERA in 72 2/3 innings while striking out a whopping 13.6 batters per nine innings. That landed him a multiyear deal that offseason with the Texas Rangers, with whom he was part of the 2023 World Series champion pitching staff.

He’s struggled to capture his old form this season. In 120 1/3 innings this season with Pittsburgh, Heaney had a 5.39 ERA (seventh-worst among pitchers with at least 120 innings) and struggled to miss bats at anywhere near his career norm (6.3 strikeouts per nine, compared to his 9.2 career average). His average fastball velocity of 90.1 mph also represents the lowest mark of his career.

Still, Heaney represents a low-risk flier at this stage of the season in case their currently healthy rotation or bullpen suffer any setbacks over the final month. For Heaney, it represents a chance to reunite with the reigning World Series champions and potentially rediscover his previous form.

(Photo: Harry How / Getty Images)