Demilio: DFA’ing Andrew Heaney Had Everything to Do With Performance, Not Looming Bonuses
The Pittsburgh Pirates made the decision to designate veteran left-hander Andrew Heaney for assignment on Tuesday.
Heaney was signed to a one-year, $5.25 million deal in the offseason to help anchor the starting rotation.
The deal looked like a savvy move initially. The veteran left-handed provided the Pirates with exactly what they wanted to begin the season. Through his first 12 starts of the year, Heaney posted a solid 3.33 ERA, but things quickly went downhill.
Beginning with an outing against the Tigers in Detroit in the first game of a doubleheader on June 19, Heaney owned a 9.21 ERA over his final 14 appearances. The Pirates removed Heaney from the starting rotation after he surrendered five runs in four innings against the Milwaukee Brewers on Aug. 11.
But in two relief appearances, Heaney allowed six runs – five of which came in the Pirates’ 7-6 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday night – while recording just six outs.
Heaney’s performance over the last two-plus months of the season led to the Pirates cutting ties, not their reluctance to pay him bonuses as so many on social media have claimed was the main factor.
If the Pirates continued to give Heaney innings, many would say they don’t care about winning and have no plan. If the Pirates axed Heaney from the roster, well here we are.
When Heaney signed with the Pirates, his contract included performance bonuses for innings pitched. He cashed in a $50K bonus on Monday after reaching 120 innings on the season. He would’ve received another $100K at 130 innings and $150K each for 140, 150, 160 and 170 innings pitched.
But it made no sense for the Pirates to continue to give innings to Heaney this season solely to cash in on performance bonuses when his very performance was lacking.
Frankly, it was surprising to see Heaney remain with the Pirates past the trade deadline, even if no deal could’ve been worked out since it always takes two willing parties to make a trade.
Heaney is going to be back on the free agent market at the end of the season and didn’t factor into the Pirates’ future plans, whereas so many young pitchers looking for opportunities do.
The outcry on social media is largely due to their decision last season to designate first baseman Rowdy Tellez for assignment four plate appearances shy of a $200K bonus.
Unlike Heaney, Tellez started the season slow, but the Pirates stuck with the burly first baseman, and he started to perform as hoped when he was signed as a free agent in the offseason.
Over his last 83 games of the season before the Pirates robbed him of a nice pay day, Tellez owned a .277/.330/.478 with 15 doubles, 12 home runs and 48 RBI.
The Pirates can say what they want, and they tried explaining that their decision had nothing to do with financial consideration. If that’s true, which I find hard to believe, the decision was because of gross negligence and added to their reputation of being cheap penny-pinchers who will do anything to save a buck.
But the two situations are under completely different circumstances. Tellez deserved four more plate appearances, if not more, to end the season. Heaney, meanwhile, would tell you himself that in order to earn his bonuses, he needed to pitch better.
The Pirates have proven they don’t often deserve the benefit of the doubt. This time, their decision was justified.
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