Perrotto: Andrew Heaney Shows Impeccable Timing
PITTSBURGH – You only get one chance to make a good first impression, so the saying goes. Andrew Heaney had his last chance to make a good impression on Saturday night.
The Pittsburgh Pirates left-hander did just that on Saturday night. He allowed just two hits in five innings and combined with four relievers on a four-hit shutout in a 2-0 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks at PNC Park.
“He pitched unbelievable, to go five scoreless against this lineup, they stacked a bunch of righties in there, and he just navigated it great,” Pirates manager Don Kelly said. “Fastball command was there, got his off-speed over. Changed speeds, changed arm angles, and the experience with pitching, he showed it tonight.”
With scouts from more than half a dozen teams in the stands and the MLB trade deadline coming up on Thursday, Heaney might have pitched himself into a pennant race. Heaney is on a one-year, $5.25 million contract he signed as a free agent in spring training, so any team trading for him would not have to commit for the long term.
Heaney has been saying for weeks that he wasn’t worried about being traded. On Saturday night, he insisted he was just happy to win a game for the Pirates, who are last in the National League Central.
“Yeah, it’s good,” Heaney said. “Obviously been really struggling, and just kind of got a few things cleaned up and feeling better about it. Just a step in the right direction, for sure.”
Heaney’s trade stock had been falling in recent starts.
The lowly Chicago White Sox tagged the 34-year-old for seven runs in four innings last Sunday as Heaney took the loss. The 12-year veteran was 1-6 with a 7.58 ERA in his previous 10 games (nine starts) before Saturday, after starting the season by going 3-3 with a 2.91 ERA in 10 starts.
Heaney admits that he is a streaky pitcher but that “it all evens out by the end of the season.”
Which is one of the reasons why Heaney is not at the top of any contender’s wish list. There are many better starters available, including Pirates right-hander Mitch Keller and Diamondback righty Merrill Kelly, who took the loss Saturday despite allowing two runs in 6 2/3 innings.
Heaney won’t single-handedly lift a team into the postseason, and there is a good chance he won’t make any starts if his team reaches the playoffs. However, he can add rotation depth for a contender.
The Pirates signed Heaney with the hope that he could be a veteran stabilizer in their rotation and help them reach the playoffs for the first time since 2015.
Those pennant hopes are long gone, and Heaney’s effectiveness has been on the wane for two months. The Pirates have better rotation options, including the possibility of moving rookie Braxton Ashcraft from the bullpen into a starting role.
Yet Heaney showed at just the right time that he can still be an effective major league starter with a lot of eyes watching him. The Pirates won’t receive much in return for Heaney in a trade, likely a lower-tier prospect.
But they’ll get something. And that’s better than nothing.
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