The Dodgers have officially agreed to acquire outfielder Chris Heisey from the Reds, Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com reports on Twitter. Heisey, 29, is arb eligible and is projected by MLBTR/Matt Swartz to earn $2.2MM. Righty Matt Magill is coming back to the Reds for Heisey, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports on Twitter.
Needless to say, given the Dodgers’ glut of outfielding options, this is an interesting move. While it is too soon to speculate, adding Heisey could suggest something else may be in the works for president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and GM Farhan Zaidi.
Soon to be 30, Heisey, has scuffled at the plate in each of the last two seasons with Cincinnati but has been looked upon fondly by defensive metrics. Despite below-average offensive production, his work in the outfield grass has made him a positive overall contributor. And Heisey does have some more promising campaigns at the plate in his history.
It should be noted that Heisey is at least capable of manning center, though he does not have many MLB innings at the spot. That no doubt appealed to a Los Angeles club that lacks a true center fielder at this point, with the exception of the young Joc Pederson — who, it should be noted, would be a platoon match with Heisey.
The 25-year-old Magill made six starts for the Dodgers in 2013, struggling mightily. And he had a rough go of it at Triple-A in 2014, posting a 5.21 ERA and messy ratio of 7.4 K/9 against 6.3 BB/9, even while spending much of his time in relief. But he has shown some ability to miss bats at times, and could be a useful swingman or middle relief piece for Cinci.
