Dodgers Cut Ties With 15-Year Veteran After Game-Winning HR

Getty Ex-Dodgers OF Jason Heyward

More and more, as the Dodgers return to full health, difficult roster decisions are coming to the fore. And on Thursday, one day after delivering a three-run homer in the eighth inning to lead the Dodgers to a 6-3 win over Seattle, veteran outfielder Jason Heyward bore the brunt of the crunch, finding himself designated for assignment to make room for utility man Chris Taylor, who is coming off the injured list.

Heyward is a 15-year veteran who has been an All-Star and a five-time Gold Glove winner, but who, at age 35, has struggled to sustain what appeared to be a bounce-back season in 2023, when he hit .269 with an OPS of .813 in his first year with the Dodgers after appearing to be a spent force in the previous two years with the Cubs.

Heyward smacked 15 homers last season, and was given a $9 million one-year deal in the offseason.

But the game-winner against the Mariners was just the sixth of the year for Heyward. He hit just .208 on the season, with a .289 on-base percentage and a .393 slugging percentage, and was especially brutal in July, when he hit just .172. His fate was probably sealed at that point, especially after the team added another utility man, Tommy Edman, from the Cardinals in a deadline trade.

Dodgers Roster Getting Crowded Again

The struggles from Heyward probably played a big part in the return of Mookie Betts to the outfield after he returned from a broken hand injury earlier in the month. Had the Dodgers been confident in production from right field, they might well have kept Betts on the infield, either at shortstop or second base.

But with Gavin Lux having been red-hot since the All-Star break (.356 batting average, .421 on-base percentage, .663 slugging percentage), the Dodgers are not eager to make a change at second base. And at shortstop, manager Dave Roberts has felt good about the hitting and all-around energy of Miguel Rojas (.283/.325/.404 slash line).

That left Heyward as the weakest link on the roster, and the Dodgers had little choice but to let him go. It did not help, too, that the Dodgers had hoped to use Heyward’s postseason experience—he helped the Cubs break their championship drought in 2016—to their advantage, but he instead went 0-for-7 in last year’s playoffs.

Jason Heyward a Popular Teammate

Heyward could yet get a shot at latching on with another team in need of veteran outfield help. He could participate in the postseason if he signs in the next nine days. While his bat struggled, Heyward remains a popular player, one of the keys to him lasting 15 seasons in the big leagues.

In the L.A. Times, friend and former teammate Freddie Freeman recalled pushing the Dodgers to sign Heyward after his struggles in 2021 and 2022 with the Cubs.

“I put Jason’s name on the radar, then I put it on again and just kept going and going and going,” Freeman said in March 2023, via the Times. “I just made sure to let Andrew [Friedman, president of baseball operations] know how wonderful of a man that guy is.”

And even after beating the Mariners, Heyward knew his time in L.A. might be coming to an end. The Dodgers are firmly aimed at a World Series championship, and can’t afford to withstand the struggles of a 35-year-old veteran.

“I think [the decision] is going to be what it’s going to be, no matter what,” Heyward said, again via the L.A. Times. “Years like this, when a team is all-in, I think they always have to put their best foot forward, and whatever happens, happens.”