With just one month remaining in the 2025 MLB season, September 1st is the deadline for players to be on a roster if they wish to be eligible for the playoffs.
The Los Angeles Dodgers are in the middle of a tight National League West race against their rival, the San Diego Padres. They made a notable deal with a former Pittsburgh Pirates starter on Monday. The Dodgers are looking to build a little buffer in their pitching staff in case of unexpected injuries, which has been the case for most of the regular season.
Dodgers Agree to Terms with Andrew Heaney
According to Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic, the Los Angeles Dodgers are signing Andrew Heaney before the postseason eligibility deadline. It is a minor league deal, and Heaney will start his third stint with the Dodgers‘ organization with Triple-A Oklahoma City.
Andrew Heaney had looked to revive his career back in 2022 when he was with the Dodgers. Over 14 starts and 16 appearances, he had a career-best 3.10 ERA and 110 strikeouts in 72.2 innings. He spent seven seasons with the Angels from 2015 to 2021 before a short stint with the New York Yankees. After his 2022 tenure with the Dodgers, he made 28 starts for the 2023 World Series Champion Texas Rangers.
Heaney hasn’t been very effective this season, posting a 5.39 ERA in 120.1 innings. He was just a handful of innings shy of earning an incentive embedded in his contract with the Pirates, but Pittsburgh released him on Friday. In the three years before this season, Heaney was a serviceable starter, recording a sub-4.30 ERA in all three seasons. He had two seasons of 140+ innings with the Rangers.
Just because Heaney is now eligible for the postseason roster doesn’t mean he will make it. Los Angeles will need to improve in September or rediscover something in the veteran’s mechanics before it trusts him to get postseason innings. Plus, the Dodgers‘ rotation seems to be set for the playoffs, so barring any unforeseen injury, there likely isn’t room for Heaney anyway.
Dodgers Playoff Pitching Staff Outlook
On top of the Dodgers signing Heaney, they also return Michael Kopech from the Injured List. With a rotation consisting of Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, and Blake Snell, Los Angeles is all of a sudden pretty deep with starters.
Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates have also returned to the bullpen, while Alex Vesia recently went down to the IL with an injury. Clayton Kershaw also looks pretty effective, so if one of those four starters gets injured, he’s likely the next man up.
The addition of Andrew Heaney is a clear buffer play for depth, and it would be surprising to see him get meaningful starts down the stretch. First, he has to do well in Triple-A, which isn’t a certainty, and then something would have to happen to an already member of the Dodgers rotation.
Overall, the Dodgers are gearing up for a stretch run to the playoffs and anticipate another deep playoff run as they attempt to become back-to-back World Series champions.
Los Angeles Dodgers Reportedly Signing Former Pirates Starter