Dodgers make wild mistake signing failed LA Angels starter

Andrew Heaney had a terrible end to his LA Angels career, and it didn’t end there.

After posting a 5.27 ERA with the Angels in 18 starts last year, he went to the Yankees and posted a 7.32 ERA over 12 games (five starts). It was a really awful year for Heaney, and it would appear that he’d have a tough time finding a new home for next year. Besides, he hasn’t had a sub-4 ERA since 2015.

Well, actually, Heaney was apparently drawing lots of interest from all over the league this offseason according to MLB Network Insider Joel Sherman. And he was actually just signed by the Dodgers.

It is a good thing that the LA Angels were not one of the teams interested in Andrew Heaney.

The LA Angels likely have no idea what the LA Dodgers, Toronto Blue Jays, Washington Nationals, and St. Louis Cardinals wanted in Andrew Heaney. And they’re probably even more confused that the Dodgers actually went out and pulled the trigger.

His career with the Angels was overall a little lackluster, and it was even worse with his most recent team. With the Halos, Heaney posted a 4.51 ERA to go along with a losing 30-33 record.

Yes, Heaney is capable of getting strikeouts, but it’s not like he’s a strikeout machine. That 27% is a good number, and his 10.4 strikeouts per nine innings this year was a good number too. That being said, he’s still not set up to be the next Robbie Ray.

Ray improved in 2020 when he was traded. He went from a 7.84 ERA with Arizona to a 4.79 ERA in Toronto after the trade. As mentioned before, Heaney got even worse after his trade to the Yankees this past season.

Ray also had way more strikeouts per nine innings in 2020 than Heaney did in 2021, posting an 11.8 K/9 rate.

The Ray comparison really isn’t all that accurate. I’m not taking a shot at Sherman; he’s just calling it how he sees it. I’m just understandably skeptical of these teams that went after Heaney, who’s regressing after already being a pretty average player. I’m even more perplexed by the Dodgers actually going out and getting this done.