Red Sox, Mets Showing Interest in Ex-Yankees Starting Pitcher
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Andrew Heaney's stint with the Yankees in 2021 was a second half to forget.
The left-hander posted an appalling 7.32 ERA in 12 games and 35.2 total innings with New York, coming after he was acquired from the Angels at the trade deadline.
Now in free agency, after a resurgent campaign with the Dodgers in 2022, two teams in the Northeast are thinking about signing the veteran lefty.
Both the Mets and Red Sox have reportedly shown interest in Heaney this offseason.
Tim Healey of Newsday was first to report that the Mets are eyeing the southpaw on the open market. Healey notes that Mets general manager Billy Eppler is familiar with Heaney after their overlapping tenures with the Angels. Will Sammon of The Athletic added recently that the Mets have "made some initial contact" with Heaney's camp.
Boston is in the mix for Heaney as well, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com. According to Cotillo, the Red Sox are "poking around" on some starting pitchers, like Heaney and Mets right-hander Seth Lugo.
The Yankees had high hopes for Heaney when they sent a pair of pitching prospects to Los Angeles at the deadline one year ago. That deal came after New York acquired both Joey Gallo and Anthony Rizzo at the deadline.
Rather than providing depth to the rotation, however, Heaney quickly turned into a liability on the mound. The southpaw wound up making only five starts. He gave up at least one run in each of his first seven appearances in a Yankees uniform, including seven earned runs against the White Sox in the Field of Dreams Game and four earned runs in relief (while recording just one out) in a loss against the Orioles.
New York eventually designated Heaney for assignment. The 31-year-old landed with the Dodgers and put together a solid campaign this year, pitching to the tune of a 3.10 ERA over 72.2 innings. He would've pitched more for Los Angeles if he didn't miss two months early in the season with a left shoulder injury.
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