'That's what we need': Pirates pitchers have positive reaction to adding LHP Andrew Heaney

BRADENTON, Fla. — Paul Skenes grew up a Los Angeles Angels fans, so he’s watched Andrew Heaney pitch for years.

When the Pittsburgh Pirates agreed to terms with the veteran left-hander, Skenes saw it as a sign that they are committed to creating a winning culture.

Heaney has pitched in six postseason games, including the start for the Texas Rangers in Game 4 of the 2023 World Series, and the 33-year-old has a reputation as an innings eater who posts every fifth day.

“That’s what we need,” Skenes said Friday morning in the clubhouse at Pirate City. “They’ve been very intentional with the guys they’ve brought into the locker room: guys that want to win, know how to win and are willing to do what it takes to win. … So, having more guys that want to win and know how to win is always a good thing.”

Heaney agreed Thursday night to a one-year, $5.25 million contract, pending the passing of a physical. He is expected to join a starting rotation that includes All-Star right-handers in Skenes and Mitch Keller, as well as Jared Jones and lefty Bailey Falter.

“I think it balances it out a lot,” Keller said. “You could go righty, lefty, righty, lefty for a series. It’s tough for an opposing team to match up with that. It puts more advantage on our side for matchup reasons. And his stuff is great. That’s what’s exciting about it.”

Heaney has a career 51-62 record with a 4.45 ERA and 1.27 WHIP in 203 games (185 starts) over 11 seasons with the Miami Marlins, Angels, New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers and Rangers.

Pirates lefty Caleb Ferguson, who played with Heaney on the Angels, called him a “good pitcher” and emphasized his postseason experience with the Dodgers and Rangers.

“Just a veteran arm that has a history of being a good starter in the major leagues and somebody that I think is going to be very beneficial to the young guys on this staff,” Ferguson said. “He’s played in the biggest markets and some of the smaller markets. I think the experience that he has being around as long as he’s had is going to be very beneficial.”

Heaney’s repertoire features a four-seam fastball with rise that he threw on 50% of his pitches last season. His heater averages 91.5 mph but had 15.7 inches of vertical break last season — 5.5 inches more than the expected average — and held hitters to a .230 batting average last year.

His slider generated a 36.5% whiff rate and serves as his putaway pitch, complemented by a changeup that hitters batted .239 against. He also sprinkles in a curveball and sinker.

Although Heaney allowed 23 home runs last season, only 18 would have gone out at PNC Park, per Baseball Savant. The Pirates identified veteran left-handers that have had success at PNC Park and have signed at least one in free agency every year under Pirates manager Derek Shelton: Derek Holland, Tyler Anderson, Jose Quintana, Rich Hill and Martin Perez.

That Heaney has won a World Series and is a two-time nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award are bonuses.

“We’ve been very intentional about people we’ve put in our clubhouse and what their role would be,” Shelton said, “and how they would affect us not only on the field but in our clubhouse, also.”

Heaney signed a two-year, $25 million deal with Texas, and he was 15-20 with a 4.22 ERA and 1.31 WHIP in 66 games the past two seasons. He won a career-high 10 games and had a team-best 159 strikeouts in 2023, when he tied an American League record with nine consecutive strikeouts against the Kansas City Royals in an 11-2 win April 10.

Last season, Heaney was 5-14 with a 4.28 ERA and 151 strikeouts in 32 games (31 starts). The only other left-handers with at least 150 strikeouts each of the past two seasons are Yusei Kikuchi, Framber Valdez and MacKenzie Gore.

“The best ability is availability,” Skenes said, “so staying on the field and pitching and pitching at a high level, that’s just putting us in position to win.”

Heaney also has worked out of the bullpen, including in the Rangers’ World Series run. He got the final out in Game 6 of the ALCS against Houston and threw two-thirds of an inning in the Game 2 loss in the World Series. He earned the victory with his Game 4 start, allowing one run on four hits and two walks with three strikeouts in five innings of an 11-7 win that gave the Rangers a 3-1 series lead.

“It’s huge,” Keller said. “It’s something we don’t have in our group. Any experience we can have in how to get there and (win) once we get there, to have that experience is huge.”

Signing Heaney likely means that Johan Oviedo won’t be in the Opening Day rotation. Oviedo, who started 32 games in 2023, is about 14 months removed from Tommy John surgery but isn’t quite ready to pitch in Grapefruit League games.

“This does not change the way we feel about Oviedo at all,” Shelton said. “We like Ovi a lot. He’s proven with what he did in 2023, but he’s also coming off Tommy John and we realize there could be limitations with him during the year and we’re not going to push that.

“We proved that as soon as last year, that we were going to be intentional with the way we put guys in the best position possible. In Ovi’s case, we really like him as a starting pitcher. We think he’s going to be a good major-league starting pitcher, and we will be thoughtful in terms of how we fulfill those innings this year.”

Heaney’s addition also could delay the arrival of Pirates top pitching prospects Bubba Chandler, Braxton Ashcraft and Thomas Harrington, who were hoping to replicate the success of Jared Jones last year in making the Opening Day starting rotation out of spring training.

“Guys are prospects and guys that we think are going to help us at the major-league level,” Shelton said, “so however we can fulfill that or extend that to make sure when guys prove that they’re ready to be in the big leagues and have pitched their way to the big leagues, in this situation, that we’re able to insert them at the right time.”

Notes: Shelton said right-handed reliever Carmen Mlodzinski will start Saturday’s Grapefruit League opener against the Baltimore Orioles at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota. … Beginning at 1 p.m., it will be televised on MLB Network.