February 27: Per Ethan Hullihen, Heaney’s bonuses start at $50K for 120 innings pitched, followed by $100K for 130 innings and then $150K for 140, 150, 160 and 170. He can therefore earn an extra $750K if he unlocks all of those. When combined with his $5.25MM guarantee, he can earn as much as $6MM this year.
February 22: The Pirates officially announcing the signing.
February 20: The Pirates are reportedly in agreement with Andrew Heaney on a one-year deal that’ll guarantee $5.25MM. The deal, which is pending a physical, also includes performance bonuses for the Icon Sports Management client. Pittsburgh’s 40-man roster is at capacity, so they’ll need to make a corresponding move when the signing is finalized.
It’s a relatively low-cost addition to the back of the rotation. Heaney has been a capable fourth or fifth starter in Texas over the last two seasons. He turned in a 4.15 ERA across 147 1/3 innings two seasons ago. Last year, he pitched to a 4.28 mark while ranking second on the team with 160 innings. Heaney took the ball 66 times for the Rangers and allowed 4.22 earned runs per nine over 307 1/3 frames.
The 33-year-old southpaw had a solid if unspectacular strikeout and walk profile. Heaney has fanned around 23-24% of opposing hitters in each of the past two seasons. After running a career-high 9.4% walk rate in ’23, he cut the free passes to a personal-low 5.9% clip last year. His 12% swinging strike rate was a little better than average.
Heaney has long had the ability to miss bats. Last season’s 22.9% strikeout rate, while slightly above the 22% league average for starting pitchers, was Heaney’s lowest mark in a decade. He has never really been a flamethrower. Heaney’s fastball sat in the 92-93 MPH range during his best seasons. It was down slightly to 91.5 MPH on average last year. The pitch has always had good life that allows it to play above its velocity as a swing-and-miss offering.
Despite the impressive strikeout rates, Heaney owns a 4.45 ERA in more than 1000 career innings. As a fly-ball pitcher without huge velocity, he’s quite susceptible to home runs. Heaney has allowed 1.54 homers per nine innings in his career, while he surrendered 1.29 longballs per nine last year. The Pirates hope that their park can mitigate some of that. According to Statcast’s park factors, only Oracle Park and the Oakland Coliseum have played less favorably for home runs over the past three seasons than PNC Park. Pittsburgh’s home field has been the toughest venue for right-handed power hitters, in particular, so there aren’t many more sensible landing spots for a fly-ball lefty pitcher.
Pittsburgh has a loaded top three in their rotation: Paul Skenes, Jared Jones and Mitch Keller. Heaney projects as the fourth starter. Bailey Falter, who has a similar profile as a soft-tossing lefty, is the favorite for the fifth spot. The Bucs thinned their rotation depth when they included Luis Ortiz in the return for first baseman Spencer Horwitz. Depth options on the 40-man roster include Braxton Ashcraft, Mike Burrows and Johan Oviedo (the latter of whom will return after missing the ’24 season rehabbing Tommy John surgery). Prospects Bubba Chandler and Tom Harrington have reached Triple-A and should make their debuts at some point in 2025.
This is Pittsburgh’s sixth major league free agent pickup of the offseason. They’ve all been one-year commitments worth fewer than $6MM. They brought back Andrew McCutchen on another $5MM guarantee and added Tommy Pham ($4MM), Caleb Ferguson ($3MM), Adam Frazier ($1.5MM) and Tim Mayza ($1.15MM). Pittsburgh’s player payroll now sits around $88MM, as calculated by RosterResource. That’s essentially where they ended last season. Cot’s Baseball Contracts projects the Pirates for the fifth-lowest payroll in MLB.
Heaney was one of the few remaining free agent starters who was sure to find a big league deal. Jose Quintana and Kyle Gibson are the best unsigned options for teams looking to deepen their rotation.
Robert Murray of FanSided first reported the Pirates and Heaney were nearing a deal. Jon Heyman of The New York Post confirmed the agreement. Alden González of ESPN had it as a one-year deal at $5MM with incentives. Andrew Destin of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported the guarantee was $5.25MM. Image courtesy of Imagn.
Bob Nutting has a pulse. Good to know. We were wondering where he was over the last few months. Please make him sell the team, powers that be.
I hate to tell you this, but the Nutting is the power that be. I root for the Pirates even as a stinky Reds fan. Good luck this year.
Good luck to you and the Reds also.
Just don’t run with scissors.
Misery loves company.
Hey Ben, not sure you’re aware but this team needs a power hitter
Near the bottom of the league in runs last year gives an obvious hint
Power hitters cost more. Much more.
Baloney.
Quit the defense of this scumbag owner already and stuff the small market mantra while you’re at it.
No one was thinking they’d sign Soto
Or Goldschmidt. Or Walker
Or trade for Bellinger
But there was enough mid tier talent as position players that could have helped this team
Here, we have another pathetic signing
You gave away arguably their second best pitcher down the stretch—and a cheap one at that—for a broken down 1st baseman that can’t hit lefties.
I have to ask ….are these guys *trying* to kill interest in baseball in this town? Are they trying to destroy the fan base?’
Screw Nutting. Screw Cherington
On a 100 restaurant bill what do you tip cheapskate? Whatever your answer is I truly don’t care because it doesn’t matter I think you should tip more.
Also do you owe a business. You should pay your employees more cheapskate.
20% default, 30% and up for outstanding. I would tip more if I made more.
That’s not defending the owner or FO, he’s just being a realist. The rest of us know that Bob will never EVER bring in a high dollar power hitter so why keep crying about it?
because our taxes paid for the construction of PNC Park.
Nutting owes this city a competitive team.
It’s been 18 years since he bought the franchise with only 3 playoff appearances in that time span
Angus is using the age-old thinking that there are Pirates fans here—especially cranky old guys—-who think Nutting should sign Soto. Or Pete. Or countless other guys with stratospheric salaries
Again, I don’t know of ANY fan here who thinks that way I don’t even know of any fan here who thinks getting a “second tier” type was achievable.
High dollar power hitter? Seriously? That’s what you’re gleaning from us?
Look, they have a nice starting rotation. All they had to do was to bring in a couple of middling players who drive in runs. Is it just a reading comprehension problem at this point? We’ve said the same thing at least a hundred times since November. NO ONE ever talked about the top level salary types
The Pirates did nothing, instead. Pham and Frazier aren’t the answer and at this point in their careers, just a hair above the VanMeters and Gamels of the world
The offense will be anemic. Again. This stellar pitching staff will have starters going 5-6 innings and it’ll all be inconsequential.
So your thinking is that if I own a restaurant on Grandview Ave in Mt Washington, the customer should be happy. Serve soy steaks and charge top dollar but pay staff sub-minimum wage
If this is your business model, you should stick with your job at the local parking garage. Moron
…should be happy with the view, that is
1 fan did
Hey Ben, not sure you’re aware but this team needs a power hitter
Power hitters start at 15m and that’s if you consider a almost 40 year old a power hitter and 20 some hrs power. If not you are looking at 20 30 million.
There you go again
Jack Suwinski!
As another Reds fan, the Pittsburgh Pirates fan base deserves a better owner.
Every fan of a crappy team wants the owner to sell.
Face it, the pirates can only compete for a championship through the draft, and that requires a lot of magic to happen.
They can’t compete financially with teams like the dodgers, Yankees, red sox, even the Cubs, who could do a lot better, but they are focused on profits.
It is what it is, you root your team, win or lose, quit whining about billionaires, they don’t care about you anyways.
Or watch local amateur or youth leagues, they are a lot of fun.
Baseball is supposed to be fun, not crying about money.
“Or watch local amateur or youth leagues”
If you steadily go to youth sports events while not being a parent, prepare for rumors and for your name to start being put on lists
Your points are all valid, but with revenue sharing Bob gets a lot of his money from those big rich teams. Bob definitely can’t have a $200MM payroll, but he definitely can have at least half that, which he hasn’t had in a decade.
This is the price that Heaney is worth. He’s been overpaid his entire career. Good move for Pittsburgh.
Except for the McCutcheon and preinjury-disclosed Horowitz moves, the other moves have been garbage. This one is good.
You just refuse to spell McCutchen correctly after two decades???
Months? You mean decades.
And the answer is, taking all Pirates fans’money.
F U BOB NUTTING
Because of revenue sharing Bob is taking ALL of the Dodgers fans money
The Pirates annual veteran lefty signing, joining the likes of Jose Quintana, Rich Hill, and Martin Perez. If history has taught us anything he will probably be traded to the Padres at the trade deadline
Rsox…you are correct! Hahaha
Actually all of those guys did a decent job for the Pirates.They have always had a starting pitching depth problem which hopefully ends this year.
Quintana got them Oviedo who was either very good or very bad in 2023.
Quintana is still a free agent. Unless there’s a last-minute reunion with the Mets, he has “Central Division” written all over him.
The Mets should have signed either one of them!
Any other team I’d say meh, but if he’s the Pirates #5 and can eat innings, it makes sense for Pittsburgh.
No. It’s still meh
Don’t forget Erik Bedard!
Marco Gonzales is in there somewhere too
Lirono and wandy as well
PNC Park is great for LHP
Heaney will have a better year than Scherzer or Verlander, who are both toasted and roasted beyond their sell-by date. Mark my words.
Only if the Pirates pay Heaney!
They just did! It’s a one year deal. Lots of young pitching coming up in the next year or two.
If Heaney has a decent 1st few months flip him. The Pirates SHOULD see what they have in Braxton Ashcraft. He was drafted in ’18 out of high school. Between covid and health issues he lost a lot of developmental time. He’s finally healthy. It’s about time to see if he’s part of the future rotation.
If he has a good first few months that might be an indication of a competitive season for the entire team.
Us long time fans have been waiting for a decade for a competitive team
Otherwise we’ve wasted another year of Skenes
No dog in the hunt, but why not put the seemingly tight resources toward offense?
Cause he’s good for 150 innings of mid 4 ERA and had 4 SIERA last year to. If he can be 1 win player it’s a steal
what good is eating innings when the offense can’t score enough runs to win?
So, your point is don’t improve the starting pitching? A good deal fell in their laps. It improves the team at a very reasonable price.
Yes, they should eat breakfast and lunch, also.
you’re missing my point.
This same starting lineup ranked near the bottom in runs scored last year and set the franchise record for most strikeouts in a single season.
They need productive hitters over pitchers considering what they have now in the minors
Because they have already spent $2M on Adam Frazier so what more do you want?!
Remember what team you are referring to.
Fraziers going to surprise. He’s back where he was at his best.
He’s 26 again? Holy crap!
He had his best years with them. He’s a bench guy/PH now. A good guy to have on the bench. Feel free to disagree.
Adam Frazier is a bad baseball player.
Out of Pittsburgh I’d ahree, he’s been anything but in Pittsburgh. He’s back so we’ll see.
Horwitz, Pham, and Enmanuel Valdez could help the offense. Reynolds is solid, and Cutch is Cutch. They need Oneil Cruz to take a huge step forward this year as well as seeing if guys like Davis, Rodriguez, and even Suwinski can contribute at the big league level
yes, Jack’s. .171 batting average will certainly help
Their excuse will be there’s no one left who would make a difference like Heaney would for 5M. But of course they were way too late in shopping for offense.
Kinda like Chapman last year. Odd signing but I guess they had a little to spend and wanted to bolster a strength and that could always lead to a trade down the line.
Actual decent signing to take pressure of Ovideo recovering from injury and Chandler can take his time.
Innings are valuable when you are trying to keep young pitchers in the minors. This is a great deal when Alex Cobb gets 15 mil
Well, they can now say they raised payroll.
I think they were hoping Aroldis would be dealt at the deadline to a desperate team for good prospects when it ended up the BUCS being the desperate for reliever team.
Uggghhhhh… the A’s gave LeClerc $10M for 1 year – I’d much rather have Heaney and some other $5M RP
Sometimes it pays to wait. Also, the A’s were spending money to spend money.
Just Heaney alone would give you about a hundred more “better” innings for half the ducats. Solid maneuver by the scallywags on the top deck.
He may not have wanted to go to Sacramento, or the A’s.
Yeah, I hear that California weather is miserable.
Absolutely correct about baseball season in Sacto.
You’ve never been less than a 1000 miles from Sacramento in the summer have you.
It’s going to be miserable.
I live less than 100 miles from Sutter Health Park. And I’m guessing that you live in New Jersey?
Nice sign, Bucs!
No doubt. I wish the Reds had signed him but they already have two lefties in that rotation.
Reds are chock full with pitching depth right now.
Famous last words
Now perhaps the Pirates can trade a prospect pitcher to the Orioles for a prospect position player?
Cowser for Bubba Chandler
@Goku
Bubba isn’t getting moved for a prospect. Well maybe Holliday if he’s still considered a prospect.
I think Pirates would have a hard time saying no to that.
Scott,
Colton Cowser isn’t a prospect
Pirates would just be getting the guy they should’ve drafted instead of Henry Davis
Really just about anyone but Oh Henry.
@Goku
My apologies, Cowser was actually a 3 WAR player last year. Still not sure it would be a fair trade, but admittedly I’m a serious Bubba fanboy.
It’d be nice for the Pirates to get Mountcastle from the O’s, or one of the twins 1B extras.
Im pretty high on Spencer Horwitz being a top 20 1B over the next few seasons.
Even then, I’d definitely prefer Cowser over Mountcastle
Nutting finally won an arm wrestling match with Fisher.
It’s weird that they do it all oiled up… and lefthanded.
Love the visual!
Couple kinky owners for sure. Less money on leather and chaps and more on arms.
Lmao Dock
Good sign for my Buccos. Creating some competition. Hopefully nobody is hurt.
No competition. They ain’t spending 5m to compete. He’s immediately in the rotation.
Heaney is in the rotation but now Falter and Ovieda gotta compete for that 5th spot. I think both are probably best suited to be long reliever/spot starter types, Ovieda because he’s essentially a two pitch pitcher and Falter because he has pitches but his stuff is good and not necessarily great. May the best man win but the pitching staff as a whole is better by not outright giving them both rotation spots.
Oviedo coming off tj not smart to throw 200 innings. Probably start in pen and start when injury happens. Like Ortiz last year. Falter good to go so will be in rotation. I don’t see any competition but you never know with these clowns.
I forgot about Ovieda’s TJ. No reason to push his limits too hard this season.
Ideally two of Burrows, Harrington and Chandler are up mid season to solidify the back of rotation and bulk inning bullpen workloads then compete for rotation spots in 2026. For as much as people are complaining about not going after more offense because they have Skenes and Jones up, I understand the thought process of not going “all in” a year early. Now if Nutting and Cherington don’t add offense at all in the next 3-5 years that’s another discussion but the pitching staff should theoretically get better while Skenes and Jones are still on rookie deals, not worse.
They should be all in now. This is as good as it gets. Who knows what pitching injuries there are next year. Unfortunately there wasn’t anyone to go all in on. But they could have signed Grichuk Canha Tauchman. Maybe the new hitting coach is a miracle worker and things will be great. I don’t like betting on reclamation.
Unfortunately, time is not on the Pirate’s side. In three years, Jones and Skenes could be gone. They’ve already burned one year of control of them already.
Will be gone, not could be.
I’ve had ludicrous thoughts on the Pirates pulling a mom n pop Dodgers deferral system. Give prospects absurd amounts in extensions.
Let’s go Heaney Thanks for everything man. Glad for the moments and happy to move on at the same time. Good contract for Pirates
I was under the impression that Heaney was a starter.They may be thinking that he is the fifth and to use Falter as the long man.That could be smart as Falter did,um,falter down the stretch last year as I do not think that he had ever come close to that total amount of innings before.
Skenes
Keller
Jones
Falter
Heaney
Oviedo pen depth.
You didn’t think Chandler was making opening day rotation did you? That stupid plan backfired on them last year and they lost a year of Jones.
I think that Oviedo may start out in AAA.
Bubba will come up in mid May like Skenes did last year.
Ashcraft may be the replacement for Falter if he shines in ST.
If he has options. I don’t care where they put him. Depth is depth.
And it is something in starting pitching depth that the small market team the Pirates have never really had.
As bad as Cherington has done with position players he deserves to be lauded for his pitching depth.
Same. Rotation in AAA will be Oviedo, Chandler, Harrington, Ashcraft and Burrows with Barco knocking on the door.
YourDreamGM-
Professional baseball people drool over rebuilding the Pirates. When that ownership group decides wisely to spend the actual $$$ on raiding other scouting systems and baseball side ops…it’d be ON! Scouts sitting in the stands in the Midwest League literally bs during down times on what they’d do with Pittsburgh.
Nice veteran signing to help calm the nerves of Skenes.
Yeah, the nerves of that guy stealin’ my girl… pffft.
Now just need to resign Grandpal for his veteran personal catcher
They may end up doing this if Endy is not ready to catch fairly regularly.
Grandpal doesn’t seem to be able to throw out runners any longer or he would be perfect and probably brought back.
Grandsl’s throws to second base always arrive on at least one bounce
That is why he can only catch Skenes because no one gets on base.
You were right though Grandpal was a hitting machine the second half of the year.
Nice for both sides. Andrew is a nice guy and I have a soft spot for the Pirates. Really hope it works out.
Sir, you have a soft spot for 2 teams in a contest for worst owner. Rockies too?
Toss Ricketts in on that worst owner round Robin. Zero reason why the Cubs can’t play up.
You think he doesn’t know that???
What? I thought he already signed?
“checks notes”
Shoot, I did it again guys: I mixed up Patrick Sandoval with Andrew Heaney
Reid Detmers sighs.
I’m sort of surprised the Mets weren’t in at this price. I’d take Heaney over anyone they have 3-6 in their rotation
With the Pirates he is guaranteed a starting gig and will probably be traded to a contender mid season.
I don’t see a world where he would fall any lower than 4/5 with the Mets as long as he stays healthy and they already are a contender. I also don’t know that I think the Pirates’ rotation is worse than the Mets’ rotation.
A lot of teams should have been in at this price. Nice points. You are right the Mets rotation probably isn’t any better than Pittsburgh. And they paid guys more for what will probably be less production.
Due to luxury taxes wouldn’t the Mets have to give him a 2.5 mil salary to get him for 5 mil? Not sure what Mets’ tax overage percentage is but I do know the Pirates haven’t crossed any. Also on Heaney’s side of the deal 5 million in Pittsburgh is roughly equivalent to 10 million in NYC anyway. Dude can buy 3 houses in Pittsburgh for the cost 7-8 months rent in New York.
You buy a house for 10m you sell it for at least 10m next year. Likely sell it for more as long as you are informed buyer.
Probably not in the current market and don’t forget, 4-6% to the realtor so you are that far behind the day you close.
You are already paying an attorney and agency make them do it. Actual most of them stink at marketing and negotiating so sell it yourself make them do the paperwork.
I mentioned that the other day. Wudda been decent for the Mets if they can’t get Cease or a TOR guy. Nobody has any idea if Holmes will work out as a SP and Montas will definitely spend some amount of time on the IL.
I like it for PIT.
Sneaky good signing. Wonder why he was still around?
Most teams aren’t too bright.
In a world where Cobb and Boyd got over 10M this is fantastic.
This does nothing to move the needle for suffering PIT fans. He’s serviceable, but that doesn’t translate to playoff contender. I’m a Pads fan and I hate ownership in PIT (and OAKLAND).
Increases pitching depth. It wasn’t a necessary move but a good one. Better than being desperate at trade deadline having to trade for Rich Hill.
@disqus
I disagree. He’s exactly the type of LHSP who thrives in PNC Park. Plus it gives them more depth to trade pitching for the bat they need.
They traded for a bat last year and we got DLC and his .200 average with more strikeouts than hits
True, but they dealt Perez just to even out the monies given to IKF. Their payroll didn’t budge so BDLC was worth that gamble to them. And he was so bad he’s now on a MiLB deal.
Yes, it’s all about saving money with this
management.
My point was that they did trade for a power bat and instead they got a Jack Suwinski clone
If you’re not a suffering PIT fan then you shouldn’t speak on their behalf. It doesn’t make them contenders but it’s a sign that there is some sensible plan. So that does move the needle.
Seattle and Baltimore is who should be most frustrated. They’re literally right on the cusp and their owners absolutely refuse to get better.
Meanwhile O’s paid Morton 15M. Seems like a poor use of budget
Agree. Morton could be better. But Heaney and 10m to spend elsewhere probably the better option.
Very low when Cobb gets 1/15, Montas 2/34, Severino 3/67.
Good signing
You left out Boyd 2/$29mm
Nick Martinez 1/21
Ouch
I don’t get the hate for Nick Martinez getting 21 million to pitch this year. Here is a chart of four pitchers stats last year that became free agents at the end of the year. One got $210 million over 6 years, $182 million over 5 years, $218 million over 8 years and $21 million for one year. Looking at these numbers I think Martinez is well worth the $21 million. Who is who?
WAR W-L ERA GS IP ERA+ K BB
A. 4.0 10-7 3.10 16 142 142 116 18
B. 3.4 15-9 2.92 32 194 128 181 48
C. 2.1 5-3 3.12 20 104 124 145 44
D. 3.5 11-10 3.25 29 174 128 166 57
Oh we know Nick is A. We’re big Martinez fans… and we hope for nothing but the best from him… but that ’24 WAR is roughly half his career sum. Not trying to predict regression here, but he is 35 come midseason and making more than any pitcher on the Padres… seems like an overpay to me is all, and I root for players to get paid. Good for him! Thanks for the post, Joe.
A+ absolute bargain. Why didn’t other teams want a terrific 5 solid #4? Don’t know.
Perfect summary of this move
Better than I expected from the bucs, tbh.
Anderson Quintana Velazquez Perez. They always find the super budget great value lefty no other team wants for some crazy reason.
Can’t believe they got Heaney for that
Is this a precursor to a trade of one of the other starters for an addition to the offense?
TJ- Good point.
Keller is going to start making a fair amount of money sometime soon.
Could be but more likely just to increase depth. Either sign this guy or you start the clock on a prospect and risk losing a year of service time or just throw a guy coming back from tj into rotation.
I agree but man it would be nice to see them add to the offense.
Very good pickup Pirates
Does this mean Ben is going to make a big bold trade to acquire a legit bat for some of the pitching depth?
This signing sure increases the odds of this happening.
What big bat? Reynolds not a 1b this year. Cruz trained for cf. Pham didn’t get paid to not start did he? 4m for bench piece would be new for Pirates. Pitching for big bat was Horowitz trade.
@ YourDream
You’re likely right, but trading for Luis Robert and making Pham a 4th OF would make this team a legitimate NL Central contender.
No one else wants Robert? Rumors were asking price was crazy high, why he hasn’t been traded. Can’t trade for someone who isn’t available.
Luis Robert??? He’d barely get on the field, and for most of his career has stunk when he did.
@greatwhite
According to Baseball Reference his WAR the last 3 seasons is just a tick below Pirates best hitter, Bryan Reynolds, in far fewer plate appearances.
Plus a change of scenery may cause him to magically get healthy? One can dream.
apparently you don’t know Cherington
His acquisition of Horowitz is the “ big bat” you are referring to
Five million now buys them an additional year of service time for Chandler and Harrington down the road. Money well spent. No way they start the season in Pittsburgh.
Awesome work, Buccos
No doubt the distant left field fence at PNC will help Heaney. He really wasn’t too homer-happy last year and if a few more of his fly balls stay in the park, he’s a useful starter. Above all, it’s a one-year deal at a reasonable price.
It’s short down the line but that righty batter power alley is killed by the notch. Pirates need to get Isaac Paredes since 80% of his homers are right down the line.
It’s insane that montas got big bucks and Heaney got almost nothing
I think he is a better choice than montas
Montas has more upside. More likely to start playoff games. If you are spending 300m why not.
Montas hasn’t been the same in years..and before his injury was extremely inconsistent. Heaney is a much better pitcher, and a much better gamble.
Great signing that adds to a strong rotation.
Really solid deal Pirates fans! I’m surprised Heaney didn’t even get incentives.
Why bother. He wou6be traded or released before Nutting let him reach them.
Literally only one way for the Pirates to dig themselves out of the hole they, the league rules and their silver spoon buzzard owner have left them in…
Trade a young arm for a young bat and hope that young bat becomes your best position player relatively quickly.
Highly unlikely, but…worth the shot. WTF else are they doing?
Or just have an extra bobblehead night or something, I guess.
Takes 2. And have to be able to develop. Or hope a team is stupid. You wouldn’t trade a sure bet impact bat. Maybe someone would for a sure impact pitcher but Pirates probably want to keep Bubba. For sure keep Skenes.
Honestly a steal in this market.
RIP ex-Pirate lefty Scott Sauerbeck.
RIP
At the ST complex in Brandenton, he dies from a massive heart attack
He was only 53 years old
Very sad
Like the signing. Now go get Rizzo to play 1B lol
I don’t think Rizzo’s back will let him play anywhere. Personally, I’m betting he retires.
How did the Braves not beat that insanely low price? Holmes and Anderson better ball out, or they’re just going to end up trading for him in 4 months.
True that Thrones.
Good pick up, still no splash for offense though
Just about every Pirate poster last year, including me, complained about hitting coach Andy Haines and what we perceived to be his negative effect on the offense. He is now gone. That in itself is probably an improvement for the offense . Will his replacement Hague turn out to be a significant improvement and help the offense? Don’t know. Even if Hague improves the Pirates hitting, will it be enough? Again, don’t know. However, I do think that the Pirate offense will be in a better place even without picking up a “big bat” than it was last year. If pitching continues to improve, one does not need the offense to improve that much to be competitive. With the current playoff system, one does not need to be dominant (see Dodges), one can win it all be being merely competitive, getting into the playoffs, and being lucky in getting hot at the right moment.
Yeah it’s bound to be better. On most stats the were near the bottom of all the batting stats. Better doest mean good though.
If they y
don’t set another franchise record for strikeouts, that will be an improvement.
Under Haines th
ey set the record two years in a row
Power bat from a playoff spot.
Nah. They need at least two high obp guys, and a power bat. They did well with getting Horowitz (assuming his wrist heals, and he produces the way he did in TOR), and their pitching looks pretty good..but one power bat doesn’t do much for them when most of their lineup struggles to get on base.
Exactly. Where will the runs come from? Hague will correct Suwinski and Davis to the point that there’s marked improvement in team hitting and scoring ? Not likely
Hayes will suddenly become a hitter?
Look, too many “ ifs” here
If Barr can produce like last year
If Nick can be consistent
If Endy hits
It’s never ending.
They did nothing this off season. And it’ll come back to bite them
Looks like an offer also went out to Jose Quintana, but Jose said it wasn’t enough.
This is the move I was hoping they’d make, Wanted them to sign LH starter, and preferred Heaney to Quintana. This should put Oviedo into the role Ortiz served last year, though I don’t rule out Mike Burrows or Braxton Ashcraft taking that spot.
Could still add another pitcher. I think Oviedo and Santana are kind of on the bubble of making the team. I think that’s one reason they went to arbitration with them (arb salaries aren’t guaranteed).
Grandal could still be an option. Possibly even a temporary 1B option until Horwitz is fully ready, Being a switch hitter, that gives them another LH bat in the line-up, and a RH hitting 1B platoon when Horwitz is back. This could mean carrying 3 Catchers (Bart, Delay, Grandal). Still leaves you 2 backup infielders (Triolo, Frazier) that can play OF, and McCutchen can play OF if needed.
This could also leave them pretty stacked at AAA in the event of injury/performance issues. And, you don’t always need 13 pitchers. A 13th pitcher and an extra position player can be rotated between AAA and MLB based on need.
Really like this signing. Well done here Pittsburgh, needed a LH starter and he’s a better option than Quintana
Tigers pay Cobb 15 and cudda got Heaney for 5.5. Ouch.
Cobb deal was horrible for Tigers. What the hell were they smoking giving Cobb 15 million???
This is prob best value of the off-season in all of baseball. Wish my orioles woulda did this
I pity the Pirates fans. Pittsburgh is a great place and they have one of the nicest ballparks in MLB. Their fans are always loyal. And yet the club spends next-to-nothing to help them be competitive.
We’re used to it.
So this adds a decent back of the rotation arm and frees them up to trade Keller or Jones for an outfield bat. Stay tuned.
Yeah, I’ll stay tuned. I’ve been a Pirates fan for. long time. We are always tuned in for the news that never comes. It’s more likely that there will be a salary dump soon to offset the addition of Heaney.
Jones has 5 years of eligibility before free agency, he’s not going anywhere
If they trade anyone it could be Keller because he makes the most money
Liked Andrew Heaney’s profile with that career low walk rate in ‘24, good sleeper FA in the right situation. As the article mentions, the fly ball issues will at least be somewhat negated in his starts at PNC. Pirates are an up and coming team. Doubling down on my NL Central prediction of them winning the division. Don’t think anybody projected the Brewers to be that good last year. K’Bryan Hayes, Henry Davis, O’Neill Cruz – if they remain healthy, that trio could finally put it all together this year.
Heaney once tweeted a classic after his first stint with the dodgers lasted a mere five hours before being flipped. “Well, Dodgers we had a good run! Great to be part of such a storied franchise. Thanks for the memories.”
Another 1 year guy cuz Bob won’t sign an actual needle mover on a 3 yr deal. (shrug)
Read all VB of the comments; one question not asked – who gets booted off the 40-man roster?
Oviedo to the 60 day IL.
Reds fan here. Good signing for the Buccos. I thought they should add a FA starting pitcher to round out their impressive rotation … and here we are.
Pirates have a chance at being good this year, meaning definitely hitting the OVER on their projected win total and perhaps making the playoffs as a wildcard.
Redleg-Good post.
I am optimistic about the 2025 Pirates but,like your name,pessimistic also.
They are projected for 73 wins but I take the over.
I say 74 wins.
70-72
And I’ll ask again: why?
Why sign him?
It’s in the Chapman mold
Complete unnecessary. And just plain stupid
Andrew Heaney is my north star reminder of how incredibly valued and expensive pitching is to the league. $5.25M for Heaney is insane- but $25M was insane, $8.5M was insane, etc. I look at his numbers- and his peripherals- and I wonder how he ever gets more than like a split contract with a pro-rated portion of a $4.5M maximum, maybe with an additional $1M worth of a buyout on a $5.5M option, etc.
But again- Heaney epitomizes the over valuation or the insane expense of pitching.
Nice late signing compared to the same pitcher you would be getting with Montas at triple the price.
Bum.
Yet another mystery signing from the worst GM in MLB and the worst owner in professional sports
Last season it was Chapman.
And Grandal and another catcher
This year, it’s Heaney
You already have Skenes, Jones, Keller, Falter and someone from Oviedo, Bubba, Harrington and Ashcroft, but this is your move
Genius!
You gave away a starter for a broken down 1st baseman who only hits righties but won’t be a factor until mid summer, if that, and you sign two guys who were over the hill five years ago
It’s hilarious. It really is
Smart necessary move. You don’t throw away a year of team control unless forced to so that eliminates the prospects. Other guy coming off tj so he can’t be counted on for entire season. Prospects can’t pitch entire season. You need depth. Lots of it. 8 9 10 guys if you are lucky.
And it’s really just Bubba. Ashcraft may be a reliever. It’s a coin flip. Harrington likely just a backend guy. Sure guys with his stuff can be better but lets go with odds. Burrows hasn’t looked as good since tj and has higher reliever risk than even Ashcraft. I’m not expecting anything out of Solometo. Lefty specialist reliever maybe. He can start throwing harder out of nowhere or get a 3rd plus pitch but lets go with the odds.
Will be lucky to have enough pitching. Won’t be surprised to see Mlod Ferg getting work.
Look at Davis mlb stats last year. Extremely fortunate they signed Grandpal and he cost absolutely Nutting.
The Pirates are so cheap that they’ll find ways to not give Heaney any of those bonuses. If he is lucky, he will be traded at the deadline.
They’ll pay him if get ready to laugh they are making a playoff push!!!! Other wise he is absolutely traded. Not so they don’t have to pay bonus but to “open up opportunity for are young exciting pitchers who will be the foundation of our future winning teams”
I have to admit…when I saw the tiered bonuses for number of innings pitched, I almost blew coffee out of my nose. No way in hell that Sweet Old Bob will let that money out of the vault! Heaney’s agent needs to look up Tellez, Rowdy and see how quick SOB is to pay what a guy is due. Am not remotely a Rowdy fan but that was a punk move by the PBC.
Last July I vowed to never drop another dime at PNC Park until SOB is gone. I am sticking to that vow. I love that park but I can stay home and watch on TV.
Last July they were above 500 why would you stop going to games then? Not that Nutting will miss you. Any $ you cost him the Yankees Dodgers will pay.
Whatever happened to filihok? Run out of people to mute?
Wrong all the time so probably changed name.
Mine says “100 comments are hidden because you muted the comment authors”
I was gonna reply but the realized you probably muted me, too
How many times will the Pirates sign Heaney?
They are going to get rid of him at 119 and 2/3rds innings.
Sneaky good sign here.
Yes, add to the starting staff. Let’s get 2 or 3 more. Maybe an 8- man starting rotation. And while we’re at it, add a couple more retreads who can’t provide offensive support. Makes complete sense
Maybe they understand that in today’s game, you need more than five starting pitchers to make it through the season. Listening to the Atlanta broadcast of the Braves-Pirates game the other day, the broadcasters noted that the Braves used fourteen different starters last year.
Also, you don’t need to score a lot of runs to win a game, just more than your opponent. While it is only spring training, the Pirates currently have the second best positive run differential (+22 behind the Cubs’ +27). The Pirates are scoring 5.875 runs per game, while giving up 3.125 runs per game. Only Atlanta has given up fewer runs per game than the Pirates. That is not based on a powerful offense, but strong pitching and decent defense.
Skeptical-My sources tell me that the Pirates have asked the Commisioner to stop the season now and declare them the World Champion.
I would be skeptical if they can achieve anything close to that if the Commisioner does not do what they asked.
Skeptical is right, of course
Some teams win divisions or wild card berths by attrition. Sure. I get that.
But on one hand, this was an unnecessary add because a) you have a great deal of depth ready to ascend to the big team and b) you again spent money in an area that doesn’t address the biggest concern
The note about hitting is one I can also identify with, that is, if the Pirates were a tournament team or playing an 81 game schedule.
How many wins will starters who go 5-6 innings actually win for you? But more to the point, how many games can a team that doesn’t hustle, has poor fundamentals and a manager that refuses to put the pressure on defenses really claw out?
The better thinking is that once again, a .500 record may allow you to compete. Trouble is, I think this team will be about 10 wins short of that
@MrMuyBeuno, I see two possible different outcomes for the Pirates. First, the suck outcome. The pitching isn’t enough and may even falter. There isn’t even a marginal improvement in the offense or in Sheldon’s management. In this outcome, the Pirates end up between 70 and 75 wins and we hear lots of excuses and promises about next year.
Second, the pitching clicks, both starters and relievers, and there is either some improvement in the offense or in Sheldon’s management. Also, this assumes no majors injuries to key players. The Pirates end up between 85 and 89 wins which is competitive. I think four of the wildcard teams last year had between 85 and 89 wins. In no scenario, do I see them as a dominant team as they were in 2015.
I am optimistic that the Pirates offense will improve at least marginally this year due to the change in their hitting coach. Don’t know if Matt Hague is the answer, don’t know if he is a good hitting coach, but i expect that he is at least an improvement over Andy Haines. I am not looking for them to lead the league in offense, just not suck so bad.
As for Sheldon, I am puzzled.