Dodgers Linked to Breakout Starting Pitcher in Potential Trade Deadline Move

CBS Sports' R.J. Anderson listed Pittsburg Pirates left-handed starting pitcher Andrew Heaney as a potential trade target for the Los Angeles Dodgers during the 2025 season.

Heaney had his best numbers in his sole season with the Dodgers in 2022, posting a 3.10 ERA in 14 starts while striking out 110 of the 310 batters he faced. This season in Pittsburgh he's posting a sub-4.00 ERA for just the third time in his 12-year MLB career.

"Heaney's season is a Rorschach test for how one evaluates pitchers," wrote Anderson. "On the one hand, he's done a good job of keeping runs off the board with his west-east approach. On the other hand, his strikeout rate has cratered by two batters per nine innings compared to last season.

"Teams are more likely to concern themselves with the second part of that matter, which is notable given they already viewed him with skepticism (he had to settle this offseason for a one-year pact worth just over $5 million). Even so, there's only so much starting pitching to go around. Heaney is a tolerable back-end option, particularly in the right environment."

As Anderson mentioned, Heaney has become a different pitcher since his last spell in Los Angeles, as the career 9.3 strikeouts per nine innings pitcher has seen his mark drop to 6.4. Although he allows much more contact now, his batting average against on balls in play is the lowest of his career so far at a .242 mark.

Heaney would be a welcome addition to the Dodgers, as their starting pitching has thinned out over the course of the season. The Dodgers moved starter Tyler Glasnow to the 60-day injured list Saturday, where he would join fellow starting pitchers Blake Snell and Emmet Sheehan. Roki Sasaki is also still on the 15-day injured list, and does not have a timeline for his return.

With Heaney's contract sitting at just one-year, $5 million, the Dodgers can afford to bring him in as a temporary rotation depth solution or as a replacement for one of their four pitchers currently in the starting rotation with an ERA north of 4.00.