Andrew Heaney hasn’t had it easy in Pittsburgh this year.
The one-year free agent signing back in the winter struggled again Monday night as the Pirates lost 7-1. The left-hander surrendered nine hits, five earned runs, and a pair of home runs, only lasting four innings and throwing 90 pitches.
It was the latest in a long string of road starts that has haunted the 34-year-old, and it was another game that saw him fall further out of favor with the fan base.
Whatever it is, this just isn’t working here anymore. Heaney started the season really strong, but as the Pirates have dragged along to another season under water, Heaney has cratered.
Heaney, in all likelihood, has no future here past this season. The $5 million man was always expected to be here for one year, at most (more on that later). At this point, he is starting to be seen as a roadblock to other arms waiting in the wings.
The Pirates have several options who they would like to see try out starter’s roles at some point, and Heaney’s 4.99 ERA and 1.32 WHIP are getting less and less desirable.
Something’s gotta give.
Johan Oviedo recently made his return to the major leagues after an almost two-year hiatus, recovering from Tommy John surgery and a subsequent lat injury. Back on August 5th, Oviedo made his first MLB start since September of 2023, although he was clearly a little rocky.
He walked three batters in the first inning and was eventually charged two runs against him. He tossed 43 pitches in the first frame and was lifted after that. It was not the triumphant return that he and the Pirates were looking for, and the club optioned him back to Triple-A Indianapolis after that start to further work his way back.
Oviedo, to his credit, was much better in his most recent Triple-A start. On Saturday, he struck out eight in less than four innings of work and looked to have far more command and control on the mound.
For the man who pitched 177.2 innings to a 4.31 ERA for the Pirates two years ago, it’s a matter of when, not if, he’s eventually back full time.
Along side him in Triple-A right now is Bubba Chandler, the much discussed prospect who is still down in Indianapolis in August.
“It’s frustrating,” Chandler told Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette during back in May. “I don’t know. I’ve thrown 100 innings every year for the last three years. I’ve been ready and know I can help the big-league team.”
Three months later, Chandler is still making Triple-A starts. His stats have not exactly mirrored what we would expect from the man who was crowned baseball’s top pitching prospect earlier in the season. The righty has a 3.82 ERA and 1.417 WHIP in 96.2 innings this season, and the last ten starts have seen him post a concerning 5.16 ERA.
Walks are also an issue for the 22-year-old, who has walked 48 (4.5 per nine innings), cutting into his impressive strikeout figures (116 on the year) and lowering the ratio. Nevertheless, Chandler is still expected to see time in the majors this season, according to general manager Ben Cherington.
“It’s still our desire to see him in Pittsburgh, so I’ll bet on that happening at some point,” Cherington said on his weekly radio show. That could be just days away, as the Pirates are very close to being able to skirt the rookie definition of 50 innings thrown or 45 total days on an active MLB roster, making next year his rookie one.
Even if Chandler has had some struggles in Triple-A and has seen his prospect ranking slip, Chandler is quite likely to take a spot in the rotation towards the end of the year.
There’s also Braxton Ashcraft, an arm who was promoted earlier in the year by the Pirates and has looked really good in the majors.
Developed as a starting pitcher all throughout the organization’s farm system, Ashcraft was converted into a reliever upon arriving in Pittsburgh. The righty has a 3.19 ERA in 36.2 innings, and that ERA is inflated from just a few scarce bad outings.
When Ashcraft is locked in, he looks like someone who could convert into a shutdown closer down the line. His arsenal is that good. But, he was developed as a starter, and with the rotation now having some question marks in it (notably, the trade of Bailey Falter and Heaney’s impending departure), Ashcraft could slot into a rotation spot as long as the Pirates have confidence in his arm.
If it’s a lefty the Pirates are looking for to replace Heaney, Hunter Barco could fit that bill. An intriguing arm who doesn’t get as much attention as some of the other prospect arms that have or will come up, Barco threw 25.2 scoreless innings in Double-A Altoona with 34 strikeouts before he was elevated to Indianapolis.
There, he has amassed a 3.98 ERA in 14 starts and 54.1 innings. His walk rate has increased sharply (2.5 per nine in Altoona, 5.5 per nine in Indianapolis), but the strikeouts are still solid with 62, and opponents are batting a low .207 against him. Being a left-handed arm at a time when Heaney is the only lefty standing could serve him very well.
That’s four arms who could figure into the rotation for 2026, without accounting for any offseason work.
How does Heaney figure into any of this?
It’s clear that he isn’t working here as a starter anymore. He, along with rentals Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Tommy Pham, were all not traded at the deadline. But unlike the shortstop and outfielder, there’s a legitimate chance that there was no market for Heaney.
His season stats help shelter a horrific road ballpark stat line, which includes a 1-7 record, 6.86 ERA, 1.51 WHIP, and 16 home runs against in 59 innings. Literally any inquiring team would have seen his non-PNC Park numbers and thought twice about picking up the phone.
Short of a DFA, the Pirates have to try and make Heaney’s still work here. Might I suggest a shift to the bullpen?
Heaney’s spot in the rotation is taking a spot away from someone who could audition for a starter’s job next year. Oviedo, Chandler, Ashcraft, the mysterious fourth option: take your pick. But, in the case of any of those names, the Pirates might be hesitant to run up their pitch counts this late in the year.
Oviedo’s highest this season, at any level, is 63.
Ashcraft, at the MLB level, is 59, set during a spot start on Saturday.
Chandler has hit 100 pitches this season, but the Pirates would probably still slow play him in the bigs to close out the year.
With those shorter starts, having an arm like Heaney, who is used to pitching a starter’s workload, can function as a long reliever, taking some of the pressure off of the rest of the bullpen to cover more innings in shorter starts.
Heaney could also piggyback on any one of those players, and the Pirates could essentially plan/hope to have two “starters” get them through a nine inning game.
Having a rotation with no lefties (unless they go with Barco) is not ideal. But having someone getting consistently shelled anywhere on the road isn’t either. At least in this model, the younger arms get a chance to start in the majors, and Heaney can still contribute.
Who knows? It might even take some of the pressure off of Heaney and help get him reset for the rest of the year. At the very least, it can’t get worse…right?
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