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Red Sox Trade Idea Lands Ex-Yankees Hurler Amid Walker Buehler's Injury

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Jon Conahan | Last updated May 5, 2025 5:00 PM ET

It's a bit too early to press the panic button for Walker Buehler of the Boston Red Sox.

However, it might not be too out of the picture to say that the Red Sox need to be careful with the right-hander.

Buehler is a bit of a question mark after dealing with multiple injuries over the past few years, which is likely why the Los Angeles Dodgers let him walk in free agency.

He was hopeful to turn his career around with the Red Sox, signing a one-year, $21.05 million deal with a mutual option in the 2026 season.

Instead, he's already been hit by the injury bug and was placed on the 15-day injured list with right shoulder inflammation.

The Red Sox are hopeful that he'll return, but they have to be careful, and if they can make a trade for another starter, that's what has to be done.

Andrew Wright of Newsweek recently proposed a deal that would send them Andrew Heaney of the Pittsburgh Pirates, adding how he could be a decent starter for the Red Sox to pursue while Buehler deals with this injury.

"In his career, Heaney has been a below-.500 pitcher record wise, but this season he has been a bit better than that in his first campaign with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

"Heaney is currently 2-2 with an ERA of 2.50 across 36 innings and six starts. His most recent start against the Chicago Cubs was the worst of his season. He allowed four runs in 4 2/3 innings and did not record a single strikeout for the first time all season,” he wrote.

Heaney has experience pitching in the American League East, throwing for the New York Yankees in the 2021 campaign.

He's had decent parts of his career, but for much of it, has been an above 4.00 ERA arm.

The one thing on his side is the innings he’s thrown over the past two seasons, with 147.1 in 2023 and 160.0 in 2024.

Availability would be helpful for the Red Sox and something they might prioritize given the Buehler situation.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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