The Yankees made a late deal to bolster the back of their rotation prior to Friday’s trade deadline, announcing the acquisition of Angels left-hander Andrew Heaney. New York is sending minor league righties Janson Junk and Elvis Peguero back to the Halos in the deal.
Heaney, 28, will be a rental option for the Yankees, as he’s playing out his final arbitration season on a $6.75MM salary. He’s posted an unsightly 5.27 ERA in 94 innings this season, although he’s been sharp in his past couple starts and the underlying metrics suggest he’s been a bit unlucky.
Heaney has excellent strikeout (28.2%) and walk (7.7%) rates on the season and consistently posts strong swinging-strike and opponents’ chase rates. He’s been done in, to an extent, by a low strand rate and a penchant for the long ball that has increased in recent years. A move to Yankee Stadium doesn’t figure to help that latter issue, though the Yankees surely have some ideas to help him curb those troubles.
While the 2021 season hasn’t been Heaney’s best, he’s a former first-round pick — No. 9 overall to the Marlins in 2012 — and top prospect who came into the 2021 season with a decent track record. From 2018-20, Heaney pitched 342 innings for the Halos and worked to a solid 4.42 ERA with strikeout and walk rates that were notably better than the league average. He’s not a flamethrower, but he’s been a solid fourth starter whose K/BB profile has long made him appear as though he’s capable of taking another step.
Beyond having an outstanding name for a pitcher, the 25-year-old Junk is having an outstanding season in Double-A, where he’s pitched 65 2/3 innings of 1.78 ERA ball with a 26.8 percent strikeout rate and a 7.9 percent walk rate. A 22nd-round pick in 2017, Junk has never ranked among the Yankees’ best prospects but provides the club with an arm who’s enjoyed some decent success in the upper minors this year — albeit with the help of a .233 average on balls in play and a 91 percent strand rate.
Peguero, 24, is another strong performer who was omitted from prospect rankings of the Yankees system. He’s split the season between Class-A Advanced and Double-A, working to a combined 2.23 earned run average with a 57-to-16 K/BB ratio in 44 1/3 innings of work. Peguero’s ground-ball rate checks in at 53 percent. FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen gave him a mention as an unranked player in his latest overview of the Yankees’ system, noting that Peguero is a strong 6’5″ righty who experienced a big bump in velocity recently, which suggests that he could see his stock rise.
Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported (via Twitter) that the Yankees were acquiring Heaney. The YES Network’s Jack Curry reported the return.
How an I supposed to react to this?
At least it wasn’t Happ again
This is true. I’m glad that won’t Happ(en) again.
J.A. Happless
Vomit in your own mouth. That’s what I did.
Can you try this again in English?
🙂 🙂
Loco… revisa el traductor… !!
Heaney was a decent prospect when he first came up. You should close your eyes and try to remember that when he starts pitching.
WAS…Seven years later. He’s a fringe #5 starter based on his numbers (career and 2021)
In that ballpark? Bold strategy
Batting practice is gonna be lit
thought this exactly.
Yankee Stadium is not that bad for lefties. It’s an absolute nightmare for righties. But lefties can pitch very well there.
I’d be more worried about him pitching in Fenway. Yanks have a lot of games left against the Sox.
so by your logic, the Yankees would dominate every season by having a staff of lefties for throwing every pitch at Yankee Stadium?
That’s a stupid statement. I said nothing remotely close to that. I never said they should have an unbalanced pitching staff. All I said is that Yankee Stadium is not nearly as unfavorable for lefty pitchers as it is for righty pitchers. Pettitte, Wells, Key, Sabathia, Chapman, Britton, Miller, etc. Those guys weren’t hurt any by pitching in Yankee Stadium.
Heaney is not those guys you mentioned. Not even close!!
so by your logic, the Yankees would dominate every season by having a staff of mostly left-handed pitchers to throw every pitch at Yankee Stadium?
What a bonehead.
🙂
Major bonehead.
True Righetti & Guidry was good too but Kei Igawa, Kenny Rogers, Sterling Hitchcock & Jim Abbott were so-so to just plain awful.
Nice guy but maddenly inconsistent. He’ll look great one outing bad the next.
So, he’ll fit right in with us.
Sounds like a worse Montgomery clone
No, worse than Monty who is OK. Gives up HRs like German.
Boom
What do you think of this, @Clip?
Kind of like life.
Someone said yesterday that the Yankees and the Angels don’t talk. Hmmmm who is the fool now?!
Also, Eppler came from the Yankees
That would make sense if Eppler was still their GM.
who does Eppler work for now?
I don’t think he currently works for anyone. At least not that I know of.
Yep, he was fired by the Angels after last season and is still not with anyone.
He has decent strikeout numbers so there’s that
He sucks. Can’t be much
Pitch him on the road. He’ll be okay there.
Gallo, Rizzo and now Heaney. The folks in the bleachers are going to be getting a TON of baseball souvenirs to go home with.
AL East officially on notice
Yeah, not good. Mostly bad this season. But Heaney will only be a rental.
If you rented from Alamo, would you ask for a junker leaking oil?
Oddly enough, one of the players he was traded for is named Junk.
He can give length to the bullpen and spot start when Severino coming back
Just a placeholder until Sevy & Kluber return. Yanks needed about 60 starting pitcher innings.
Cash had a pretty good deadline. It’s a lot more fun being in the fray as opposed to lamenting the “high acquisition cost” which we’ve heard – ya know – a time or two.
Hey, as long as the Yanks don’t mind a SP who has spent half his career on the IL and the other half producing uneven results, then Heaney is a score.
The Yankees destroyed Heaney in his outing at Yankee Stadium, and now they’re acquiring him?
Angels working on that pitching depth.
DROP A BLADE ON THAT BEARD TRUSTEE.
Yes!!!! The most frustrating pitcher, the Angels, have had the past 7 years. I was worried they would hang on to him and pay market value this offseason for a guy that spins a gem and then gets rocked two outings in a row. But he will not be missed.
They were never bringing him back. They have 3 young lefties to start games. And 4 young righties. Could be looking good.
Sounds like Eovaldi when he was a Yank.
Lmao. With Holmes and Rodriguez, their pitching is gonna be lights out.
Angels got better without even knowing what they got for Heaney.
now Iglesias, Cobb please
Doubt they get much back in return. I wonder if the Angels are doing this to bring up Reid Detmers and see what they got in him.
Yankees desperate for any pitcher and with TD ending soon. This is all they can get. Yankees should of explored Rizzo and Hendricks.
@Angels86ed It is going to be next to nothing. The Yankees didn’t have much to start with and they traded half the farm for Rizzo and Gallo. They have nothing to give and Heaney isnt worth much, so dont hold your breath.
Angel fan, the Yankees only traded one of their top 10 prospects for Gallo/rizzo, not sure what you’re on about with that one. They still have a ton of depth there. That being said, they obviously won’t give up much here.
Actually the Yankees didn’t use any of their top 5 prospects in their deals this week. Maybe do some research before you post.
I guess somebody in there farm has to be ranked in the top 10.
They didn’t get Lester Or Berios. Heaney will not help them close the nine game gap separating them from Boston — especially since Bloom reeled in Schwarber, while the Yankees gave up real talent for over-the hill Rizzo. #ByeByeCashman
@Srecter Noone is gong to give up much for Rizzo, Gallo, or Heaney. Gallo is a career Mendoza line hitter. Rizzo is past his prime. Heaney never reached his potential. I know you think Heaney is going to be an ace now that Garret Cole isnt allowed to cheat anymore. What is he like 2-5 or 2-6 since not being allowed to cheat?
Angel fan. This is a ludicrously uneducated statement, and I apologize for engaging with you on the topic of baseball. Cheers.
@srechter bye moron.
@mlbnyyfan- there was no way the Cubs were going to pay Hendricks contract, like they are doing with Rizzo. That’s why the Yankees prospects that were traded to the Cubs were in their top 15. Hendricks has a few years to go on his contract. The Yankees didn’t want to go over the luxury tax.
I’m a die hard Angels fan and this is the only logical and hopeful plan the Angels have for this. I don’t like Heaney, but I really don’t like the Yankees. However, even I don’t understand why the Yankees even looked at Heaney besides as a reliever when the Yanks are getting blown out like last night against Tampa.
Detmers looks great and I’m not a big fan of developing pitchers in our AAA environment. Pitching there at high altitude is vastly different than here at sea level.
Sandoval, Suarez, Barria definitely need to be given the rest of the year to play themselves into or out of next year’s plans.
he looks like an Ace one day, and batting practice the next. I just couldn’t understand him. seems like an amazing dude tho and super easy to root for !!
Opens up a spot for promotion…Detmers? Rodriguez?
I would love to see Detmers get the call.
So the Angels are receiving Junk in return…
Heaney for Junk? Sounds about right
Well there’s a upgrade. I rather have Junk than Heaney.
Won’t matter….Angels aren’t going to the playoffs once again
a bag of used tennis balls
Literally/ Jason Junk.
I really like Heaney but he has not been the same since his BFF Skaggs died. I hope the new scenery will help him clear out the fog and get back to business.
Waiting to see if the Angels got a family size bag of Lays potato chips in return. Rumor is was down to Lays or Ruffles. Please be BBQ. Fingers crossed.
It was funions
Angels famously have one of the worst pitching staffs in baseball and no Angel fan will miss Heaney.
That should tell how Heaney is performing.
Angela got back junk for this trade
Angels and Yankees finally talk lol what a shocker!!!
Well I guess they didn’t move Iggy or Cobb. This arm chair GM would of.
Can’t imagine the Angels getting much in return for a pitcher like Heaney
“A move to Yankee Stadium doesn’t figure to help that latter issue, though the Yankees surely have some ideas to help him curb those troubles.”
That’s what I’m afraid of. Cashman’s Assistant GM, Michael Fishman, whose contact with competitive baseball growing up seems to have been limited to playing Strat-o-Matic (no joke, source: The New York Times), has all kinds of “ideas.” Case in point, Wandy Peralta. Sure, Tauchman was no loss, but Peralta’s been garbage in pinstripes. No doubt Fishman had “ideas” about fixing him too.
You’d think a math major from Yale would understand that the monetary value of winning a World Series far outweighs the cost of paying the luxury tax and could explain that to Hal. Apparently not.
I will concede this though: Heaney’s SIERA is much better than his ERA, so maybe there’s some hope to be taken from that. Fingers crossed.
The Angels literally traded Heaney for Junk…
You win today’s Proper Use of “Literally” Award.
The Yankees just traded *fill in the blank* for a hard hit pitcher in a home run friendly park.
Mr. 50/50 Heaney!
Why?
I dont HATE It. I actually think it’s possible we see some small improvement from him In higher leverage sits. His metrics don’t suggest he’s wild or can’t attack the strike zone. Two things the yanks are craving. If they’re in games that need innings to be eaten while staying “in it” he’s a good fit. Notvgonna be relied on for big W’s or 7 inning starts.. he’s a ling inning arm to save the pen at worst and at best he’s a 5th starter. Not bad.
Farm going to be emptied…..
i’m a yankee fan and in the time it took to type this sentence i’ve forgotten this deal happened
Dodger legend Andrew Heaney!
Thankful the Angels got some prospects for Heaney. He has pitched much better lately, but I expected way more from him in his pending FA season. I hope he has a nice stretch in the final run, but his stock has taken a big hit. Good luck to him in NY.
I’m pretty sure Heaney will be in the Yankees’ pen.
I doubt that very much. He’s pitched in exactly two games in relief, and that was seven years ago … but, hey — playing guys out of position is a Yankee thing lately, so maybe.
Cole, Taillon, Monty, German, Cortes Jr. (only 1 HR allowed in 33 IP)
Me, I’d happily let Cortes, Jr. start. But you know how formulaic this front office regime is. Most likely The ‘Stache goes back to the bullpen and Heaney starts. Anyway, that’s my guess.
Cortes really *is* throwing well for us. Remember when we picked him up (again)? You were so miffed about it, you tried to make me a vegetarian.
No, I don’t remember that — and neither do you, because it never happened.
I’ve always liked Nestor and never bagged on him in a discussion with you. So that’s untruth number one.
Nor did I ever try to make you or anybody else a vegetarian, so that’s untruth number two. I’m sure I told you there were more than enough farmed animals to supply all the animal protein you or anyone else in America cared to consume.
I do recall, however, that you claimed to not kill anything you didn’t eat, and then you later admitted to murdering bears for fun.
It seems you’re still stewing about that discussion, hence this latest erroneous comment. If your conscience is bothering you, that’s good. But if you feel compelled to resume that argument, you need to take it up with yourself. For me, the right of wild animals to live their very difficult lives unmolested by humans killing them for fun has been a settled issue for many years.
And it would be doubly pointless for me engage with you on the subject again, because it appears you don’t even remember what I said the first time and now you’re misrepresenting my point of view.
I said I was done with this subject, I’m quite sure of that. Clearly, you’re not — but you’ll have to pursue it on your own.
I do think, though, that you owe it to me to not distort the record of what I said before and to refrain from misrepresenting by opinions; so do me that favor if you pursue this subject in my absence.
How ’bout those Yankees?
Typo: “misrepresenting by opinions” should read “misrepresenting my opinions.”
And with that, I’m done … again.
I do t get this one. Doubt he has options and I doubtful of him helping. He has Had no good years. Maybe the new lefty specialist type?
Elvis has left the building
I’m surprised the Angels got any value from Heaney. For some reason he couldn’t consistently keep the ball in the park
Need an ace and bullpen arms. Surely they aren’t done.
Junk and Otto gone in two days. Somerset pitching was fun, while it lasted.
If you think the yankees are any good at judging pitching, Whitlock. This guy? BMI = 25.7, overweight. But skinny by yankee standards. Whitlock BMI = 22.5, way too skinny for the yankees, so they dumped him.
Low BMI is the new moneyball, folks. You heard it here first.
I see what you did there. (Yep, I laughed.)
Yep, that Andrew Heaney is a real fatty.
And when Arnold Schwarzenegger won the Mr. Universe title in 1968, he had a BMI of 32.6, which would classify him as obese using the NIH Body Mass Index calculator that you’re using so erroneously.
A professional athlete has a higher ratio of muscle to fat.
According to the calculator you’re using, Max Scherzer and Gerrit Cole are overweight, and so is Giancarlo Stanton. That’s obviously ridiculous. At least it’s obvious to anyone looking at them. You do get it now … don’t you?
That’s it? A couple of guys that will never see a MLB uniform? I would have rather taken my chances with a draft pick.
Always liked Heaney’s stuff but he’s had some tough luck with injuries and eventually Tommy John. He’s only been able to have over 18 starts in a single season once. I think a change of scenery will help him significantly and he’ll give NYY some quality starts down the stretch, which will help his value during free agency.
Hes going to be good like Shawn Chacon in 05 underrated
Get ready Yankee fans to be trailing by 4 or 5 run in the first inning LOL.
You can’t scare us. We’re used to that.
In fact, we did that yesterday … so there!
The Yankees traded junk for garbage.
Not really… Peguero and Junk are lighting up the minors.
I believe there was a pun in there.
And they are also 25-years-old in double-AA. There’s a reason why they weren’t considered top prospects within the Yankee farm system.
LOL Yankees taking the Angels’ garbage!
One man’s Junk is another man’s Heaney.
Remember Brandon McCarthy?
Yanks got him from Diamondbacks ERA over 5.
He was trash, and regained luster with them; on to an ill-fated FA deal with i think, LAD. Anyway..
“All you need is a new change of scenery”
Heaney – Frustratingly inconsistent – He can look like a solid #2 or #3 guy in the rotation one start and the very next start look terrible, He also gets up in the pitch count very quickly so he never gets thru the 7th inning. Tends to reach 100 pitches in the 5th. I’m glad the Angels finally let him go and I honestly wont miss him.
What will Artie and company do in the off-season to fortify the rotation with actually good pieces so Trout and Ohtani can get some postseason play?
Nickle and dime it like they always do
You really need to ask? Their last three offseasons have been similar. They will sign a couple of hasbeen starting pitchers to one-year deals worth about $8-10M and they will suck. They will sign several low quality (AAAA) relievers to minor league deals or low seven-figure guarantees and they will suck.
Couldn’t have said it better myself.
He is 30 years old not 28…..
We just traded Junk for junk. I bet Junk was better.
The junk the Yankees gave up was less valuable now but I’d say the Angels won the deal in the long term
James Junk. We aren’t being serious with this guys last name are we?
I’d rather they keep Nestor Cortes in the rotation. He picked up a couple miles on his fastball this year and has been extremely difficult to hit.