5 former Angels players whose playoff hopes are still alive

4) Andrew Heaney, Texas Rangers

Patrick Sandoval reminds me of Andrew Heaney as an Angel in a lot of ways. Sandoval has the stuff to be a really good pitcher but often doesn't trust it and doesn't have the best results consistently. Heaney has great stuff as well, but he never quite tapped into his potential with the Angels.

The southpaw was with the Angels from 2015-2021 before being moved at the 2021 trade deadline to the New York Yankees. The Angels wound up using the two pieces they got in the Heaney trade to acquire Hunter Renfroe in the 2022 offseason. That didn't work out so great.

Since departing the Angels, Heaney has had his ups and downs. He was abysmal for the Yankees leading to him being DFA'd. Heaney then latched on with the Dodgers and the Dodgers did what they always do. Get the best out of any reclamation project. Heaney was at his best with the Dodgers but was limited to 16 appearances in 2022 due to injury.

This past offseason he signed a two-year deal to go to Texas and he's had a decent year. He posted. a 4.15 ERA in 34 appearances (28 starts). He earned the start in Game 1 of the ALDS after Texas swept the Rays in the Wild Card round and pitched well, allowing one run in 3.2 innings pitched in the Rangers win. He's currently lined up to pitch Game 4 of the ALCS against the Astros as Texas looks to go up three games to one.