Andrew Heaney, who pitched for two World Series-winning teams but was a bust of a trade deadline acquisition for the Yankees in 2021, has retired after 12 MLB seasons, he announced in a social media post Sunday.
“Many people don’t get the opportunity to leave home and travel to beautiful places, meet amazing people from so many different backgrounds, all while doing something that they love,” Heaney wrote in his Instagram post. “I have. … I played with many of the greatest players of this generation and potentially some of the best players to ever wear a uniform. 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. The routine of showing up to the yard every day and working to improve each time out has been a driving force for me the last 14 seasons.”
Heaney debuted with the Marlins — the organization that selected him in the first round of the 2012 MLB Draft — in 2014, and that offseason, Miami dealt him to the Dodgers before Heaney was redirected to the Angels later that same day.
Over the next seven years in Los Angeles, he collected a 4.51 ERA across 11 starts, and ahead of the trade deadline in 2021, the Yankees acquired him in exchange for a pair of minor-leagues to boost their rotation depth.
That backfired, though.
Heaney lost his rotation spot after just five starts and a 6.23 ERA, getting designated for assignment just over two months and seven cameos later before the postseason even began.
But the left-hander resurrected his career with the Dodgers the following season and then with the Rangers.
In 2023, he won Game 4 of the World Series and paired that with a 31-start campaign — his first time hitting at least 30 starts since 2018 — in 2024 with Texas.
“I’ve had a lot of ups and downs in my career,” Heaney told reporters after his Game 4 win that year, according to MLB.com. “I’ve been on a bunch of different teams and never had this opportunity.”
He stumbled through most of last season, though, and collected a 5.39 ERA across 23 starts and 26 appearances with the Pirates before getting designated for assignment in August.
The Dodgers inked him to a minor-league deal days later, but Heaney appeared in just one MLB game — an innocuous two-inning stint Sept. 27 where he allowed three runs against the Mariners — and wasn’t on any of the postseason rosters that produced Los Angeles’ second consecutive World Series title.
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Thank you
“I am now ready to return my focus and energy to being a husband, father, family man, and active member of my community,” Heaney wrote in his Instagram post. “I’m retiring from baseball, but I hope to give back more than I received. Thank you to all of you for the love and support you have given me. Y’all know who you are.”
