Former Yankees Pitcher Announces Retirement from Baseball

Former New York Yankees pitcher Andrew Heaney has announced his retirement from baseball.

His career began with the Miami Marlins in 2013. He hung up his spikes this season after the conclusion of his second term with the Los Angeles Dodgers, collecting another World Series ring. The first of which came as a member of the 2023 Texas Rangers. Heaney had a brief stint with the Yankees, though much of his success came immediately after he was designated for assignment by the team.

Heaney shared a heartfelt message on X, delivering gratitude to former teammates and those who helped him reach the big leagues.

"I played with many of the greatest players of this generation and potentially some of the best players to ever wear a uniform," Heaney posted. "I'm humbled that I was even able to share the field with them. I was never an All-Star and definitely not a Hall of Famer, so I can only hope that I was great to each fan, player, coach, and staff member I go to be around.

"I'm so thankful for all of the people involved in making my career more successful than I ever dreamed. I will miss the game greatly, but all of my experiences and the lasting relationships have made me a better person."

pic.twitter.com/4bLWCBhxYA
— Andrew Heaney (@Heandog8) December 28, 2025

Time with the Yankees

When the Yankees acquired Heaney at the busy 2021 deadline for Janson Junk and Elvis Peguero, they were presumably hoping to unlock something that the Los Angeles Angels could not. Though his 6-7 record with a 5.27 ERA looked unsightly, he struck out 113 batters in 94 innings.

That did not turn out to be the case. In Heaney's first three starts, he logged 15 innings. He allowed 15 earned runs and gave up eight home runs. Those strikeouts were there, however. He struck out 18 during that span.

Heaney did have one stellar start against the Boston Red Sox. It was an important one as far as Wild Card implications go, and, after giving up a home run in the first, Heaney immediately settled down. He pitched seven innings, and Boston did not score the rest of the way.

In honor of Andrew Heaney’s retirement, that one time Heandog dominated the Red Sox in the middle of a wild card race

7.0 IP
2 Hits
1 ER
4 K’s pic.twitter.com/FEGKtew8Xm
— AT (@YankeeWRLD) December 29, 2025

It would be the Dodgers who got the best version of Heaney after his time with the Yankees. In an injury-shortened season, he pitched to a 3.10 ERA in 72.2 innings. The following season, he joined a Texas Rangers team that was home to misfit Yankees. He and former teammates Jordan Montgomery and Aroldis Chapman took home World Series rings that season.

Potential Shift in Philosophies Post-Heaney

Heaney's starts turned out to be a death knell for the hopes and dreams of playing the Wild Card game at home in 2021. Boston edged New York in the standings, and those disastrous Heaney outings proved to be the difference.

That was less on him and more on the organization for choosing to go with the veteran instead of just relying on a young pitcher by the name of Luis Gil, who also had a stellar start in the same Boston series as Heaney. The Yankees would frequently send Gil down and rely on the veteran southpaw despite his struggles. They held on much longer than they needed to when Gil was right there for them.

Sep 8, 2021; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees pitcher Luis Gil (81) reacts after a strike out to end the top of third inning with the bases loaded against the Toronto Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images | Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

For all of the Yankees' issues and their playoff failures during the Aaron Judge era, they have since relied more on their young arms. This season, Cam Schlittler played the role of a de facto ace that the young Gil may have been able to do that year.

Those Wild Card standings could have gone in the other direction, had Gil pitched. The Yankees could have played at Yankee Stadium, and both Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge would have been able to continue their hot streaks in the Bronx, instead of being on the road at Fenway, where Boston's lineup bombarded an injured Gerrit Cole.

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