Heaney is a Solid Anchor to Pirates’ Pitching staff

Andrew Heaney is a welcome addition to this season’s Pittsburgh Pirates’ pitching staff.

Heaney’s record after six starting assignments is 2–2, with a 2.50 ERA. If it wasn’t for a rocky performance this past Tuesday at PNC Park against the visiting Chicago Cubs, we could be talking about a sub-2.00 ERA. The millions that Heaney signed for back in February on a one-year deal seem to have both the player and the organization quite pleased with the results.

Coming into Tuesday night’s game at home, after a 22-minute rain delay, Heaney was on a hot streak. His previous start came last week in Anaheim, as the left-hander turned in a stellar performance opposite the club that he spent parts of seven seasons as a member of.

As they say in baseball terms, Heaney’s dominance on the mound has been “filthy”. Against the Angels, Heaney rang up nine strikeouts, tossed six shutout innings, in what was ultimately a Pirates’ 3-0 victory.

Before seeing the Cubs on Tuesday, the 1.72 ERA Heaney was sporting was the second lowest among qualified left-handed pitchers. Plus, he was in the midst of a career-high scoreless streak of 16.1 innings. See what I mean in labeling Heaney’s tosses as “filthy.”

With the success of Paul Skenes as the leader of Pittsburgh’s rotation, and support from Mitch Keller, Bailey Falter and Carmen Mlodzinski, Heaney’s veteran presence is serving as an anchor in keeping the others on track with their starts and feeling less pressures.

Granted, there are five more months to the Pirates’ MLB schedule to be played. In recent years, veteran pitchers have come and fizzled out early by injury or ultimately been moved by the trade deadline. Heaney shows signs of being a keeper, and perhaps a target by club general manager Ben Cherrington to offer an extension to before October rolls around.

As pitchers go, Heaney is a pedigree. Sure, he turns 34 in June. Last month, he reached his 10th full MLB season when the Pirates were playing against the Cincinnati Reds. This is a sure sign of baseball durability, one of the traits why the front office pursued Heaney.

Last season, Heaney notched his 1,000-career strikeout as a member of the Texas Rangers, and the season before that, the lefty was part of the rotation that led the club to a World Series championship in Arlington, Texas.

It’s okay to chalk up Tuesday’s outing as a “hiccup”, which was giving up 5 hits and four runs in 4.2 innings. The Pirates’ pitcher of record (six different pitchers were called upon by manager Derek Shelton) of the 9-0 Cubs win brought Heaney’s record to 2-2. There are no warning signs that in taking the loss against the Cubs, Heaney has any physical issues with his throwing arm.

It’s very likely that Heaney will get his next start this Sunday, facing the San Diego Padres at PNC Park. He knows his way around the strike zone as well as anyone in the game. 31 strikeouts in 36 innings, so far this season, is another stat that says Heaney is in control of where his pitches land. Coming into 2025, over the past three seasons, Heaney has collected 420 strikeouts.

Being a strikeout artist that Heaney is, his way of sending pitches across the plate is crucial, for when the Pirates’ offense may be at a pause. With Heaney, he always seems to keep the club in position to win the game.

There’s no substitute for experience. Other than Keller’s four full MLB seasons (all with the Pirates), for as good as the other starters have proven to be, Heaney’s guidance is important. He can be the shoulder others may need to lean on.

The Pirates’ 3-3 recent road trip that came through Anaheim against the Angels, and at Dodger Stadium with the likes of Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, and company, should be seen with a glass-half-full mentality. Most importantly, progress was shown out west. Hopefully, this week, the positive synergy continues at PNC Park.