Top Landing Spots for Free Agent Andrew Heaney

The last time Andrew Heaney was a free agent, he was coming off a phenomenal (but injury-shortened) season with the Dodgers.

Over 72.2 innings, Heaney pitched to a 3.10 ERA and 3.39 xERA, striking out an incredible 35.5% of batters he faced. That performance earned him a two-year, $25 million deal from the Rangers in free agency.

Over two years in Texas, Heaney completely pushed aside the injury issues that had dogged him in the past. He pitched 66 games (59 starts), tossing more than 300 innings. His 2023 and ’24 seasons marked the first time he had ever thrown at least 100 innings in consecutive years.

The downside was that he never looked as dominant as he did in his brief stint with the Dodgers. Nonetheless, the southpaw was solid and reliable, pitching to a 4.22 ERA with a 23.2% strikeout rate, 7.6% walk rate, and 4.34 FIP.

In other words, Heaney gave the Rangers five league-average innings every five days for two years. That’s the PB and J of starting pitching lines. It might be boring, but it always gets the job done.

So, Heaney came into the 2024-25 offseason as a completely different type of free agent than he was the last time. Instead of a high-risk, high-reward gamble, he’s a safe (if boring) mid-to-back-end starter.

It would not be surprising to see him sign for very similar terms to his last deal (two years, $25M) but for totally different reasons.

That said, Heaney has a little extra leverage right now; he’s the top left-handed starter remaining on the free agent market. The only other lefties you could make a case for are Clayton Kershaw and Jose Quintana.

Kershaw is a free agent in name only – he’s not signing anywhere other than L.A.

As for Quintana, he has been similarly productive to Heaney over the past couple of seasons, but he’s more than two years older. Heaney also had much more favorable underlying metrics in 2024. Thus, he’s less risky and has a better chance of signing a multi-year deal.

Here are a few teams that could use a reliable left-hander like Andrew Heaney in 2025:

Toronto Blue Jays

As things stand, the Blue Jays have an all-righty rotation featuring Kevin Gausman, José Berríos, Chris Bassitt, Bowden Francis, and Yariel Rodríguez.

Gausman, Berríos, and Bassitt are locks to make the Opening Day rotation, but GM Ross Atkins suggested earlier this winter that neither Francis nor Rodríguez had earned that distinction.

Heaney would raise Toronto’s floor and help the Jays split up all their righties. He could also bolster the bullpen in a best-case scenario for the club in which Francis and Rodríguez pitch so well that they edge him out of the starting staff. The Blue Jays need upgrades in the bullpen too, and Brendon Little is currently the only lefty in their arm barn.

The Blue Jays probably won’t pursue Heaney if they manage to sign Roki Sasaki, but this fit makes a lot of sense if the NPB phenom picks the Dodgers or Padres instead.

Atlanta Braves

The Braves already have a pretty great lefty leading their rotation: 2024 NL Cy Young winner Chris Sale.

However, every starting pitcher on this team comes with pretty significant questions about their health/durability, their limited big league track record, or both. If everything goes right, the Braves could have the best rotation in the National League. If everything goes wrong, it could be a disaster.

Adding an arm like Heaney would offer the Braves some much-needed rotation insurance to protect them from potential injuries to Sale or Spencer Strider; regression from Reynaldo López, Spencer Schwellenbach, or Grant Holmes; and stalled development of top prospects like AJ Smith-Shawver and Hurston Waldrep.

Pittsburgh Pirates

The Pirates have a strong top three in Paul Skenes, Jared Jones, and Mitch Keller. However, the back end of their rotation is less inspiring.

The only southpaw starter on the team is Bailey Falter. In 88 career starts, Falter has a 4.79 ERA and 4.62 FIP, and the 2024 season marked the first time he ever surpassed 90 innings in a season.

Rounding out Pittsburgh’s projected rotation is Johan Oviedo. The righty had a solid season in 2023 (4.31 ERA in 32 starts), but he missed the entire 2024 campaign recovering from Tommy John surgery.

Signing Heaney would give the Pirates a reliable fourth starter and a more trustworthy lefty option than Falter.

If the Pirates become true contenders in 2025, it’s going to be because their young players stepped up. Still, the front office can help by bringing in complementary pieces like Heaney to support the kids and raise the floor.

San Diego Padres

Are the Padres going to spend this winter? Are they going to pull off any huge trades? Right now, it’s anyone’s guess what AJ Preller has up his sleeve.

What I can say for sure is that the Padres could use some rotation depth. Dylan Cease, Michael King, and Yu Darvish make for a strong top three, but would San Diego trust Matt Waldron or Randy Vásquez to start game four of a postseason series? Right now, they might have to.

Heaney could be the fourth starter the Padres need, and he would bring a left-handed option to an otherwise all-righty staff. This move makes a lot of sense if the Preller has the financial flexibility to make it happen.

Like the Blue Jays, the Padres are another finalist for Sasaki. Thus, this fit depends on where Sasaki chooses to spend the next six years of his career.

Houston Astros

Like the Braves, the Astros already have a terrific left-hander atop their rotation: Framber Valdez. And unlike Atlanta’s ace, Valdez is as durable and reliable as they come. Over the past five years, he ranks seventh among all pitchers in innings and eighth in FanGraphs WAR.

However, Houston’s rotation is shaky (and all right-handed) behind Valdez. Hunter Brown and Ronel Blanco were terrific in 2024, but neither has much of a track record beyond last season. Meanwhile, Spencer Arrighetti wasn’t much more than a no. 5 starter in his rookie campaign.

Luis Garcia, Lance McCullers Jr., J.P. France, and Cristian Javier will be working their way back from injuries. Hayden Wesneski has never pitched a full season as a starter.

So, the Astros could use another high-floor hurler, and they have room for another lefty in the mix.

It’s not clear how much money GM Dana Brown has to work with, but Houston’s projected payroll (per RosterResource) is currently about $19 million below last year’s final tally. They could sign Heaney and still have some wiggle room for a few small additions without surpassing their 2024 figure.