Source: Pirates, Heaney agree to 1-year deal

Free agent starting pitcher Andrew Heaney and the Pittsburgh Pirates are in agreement on a one-year, $5.25 million deal that includes additional performance-based incentives, a source told ESPN on Thursday.

Heaney, 33, will slot into what looks like a dynamic rotation alongside young stars Paul Skenes and Jared Jones on what amounts to a below-market deal.

At the start of the offseason, ESPN predicted a three-year, $28 million deal for Heaney, who ranked 14th among starting pitchers. But his market did not materialize as expected, prompting the Pirates to pounce on one of few reliable pitchers remaining as they prepare to begin spring training games from Florida.

Heaney was part of a Texas Rangers team that won it all in 2023 and helped get them there by pitching five innings of one-run ball in Game 4 of the World Series. While with the Rangers over the past two years, Heaney compiled 307⅓ regular-season innings and posted a 4.22 ERA, striking out 310 batters and issuing 101 walks. His best statistical season came with the 2022 Los Angeles Dodgers, for whom he posted a 3.10 ERA and struck out a career-high 35.5% of hitters in 72⅔ innings.

The No. 9 pick by the Miami Marlins in 2012, Heaney was initially acquired by the Dodgers as part of a seven-player trade in December 2014, then was immediately flipped to the Los Angeles Angels in exchange for veteran second baseman Howie Kendrick. Heaney went on to spend six and a half seasons with the Angels, contributing a 4.51 ERA in 102 starts.