A familiar name has entered the Blue Jays Rumour Mill early in the off-season.
According to Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith, the Blue Jays have interest in signing left-handed pitcher Andrew Heaney…
As the #BlueJays seek pitching, a name on their radar is LHP Andrew Heaney per source.
Jays pursued him aggressively last year, but he signed with Dodgers & posted elite 35.5% K rate (MLB avg: 22.1%) with 6.1% walk rate & 3.10 ERA in 72.2 IP (14 starts).
— Ben Nicholson-Smith (@bnicholsonsmith) November 11, 2022
Heaney was among the names in the mix last winter to be Toronto’s next Robbie Ray when it became clear that the bargain-bin-arm-turned-Cy-Young-winner was going to secure a bag of cash elsewhere in free agency.
Heaney wound up inking a one-year, $8.5 million deal with the L.A. Dodgers and posted a 3.10 ERA over 72 2/3 innings while striking out a whopping 13.6 batters per nine innings. The Dodgers didn’t issue Heaney a qualifying offer so he’ll head to the open market without draft pick compensation attached to his name.
We’ve seen the Blue Jays carry interest in certain pitchers over multiple off-seasons in the past, which is why Toronto’s interest in Heaney is more notable than the usual ‘The Blue Jays Are In On This Guy’ rumours we’ll see in the coming weeks. They were in on Kevin Gausman back in the off-season following the 2019 season before he wound up signing a one-year deal with the San Fransisco Giants and they finally landed him two years later.
Heaney, who was selected No. 9 overall by the Miami Marlins in the 2012 draft, throws a fastball that averages 93 miles per hour and a wipeout slider that leads to his elite strikeo …
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Author: Cam Lewis / Blue Jays Nation
