PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates announced today the signing of left-handed pitcher Andrew Heaney (pronounced HEE-nee) to a one-year contract for the 2025 season.
The 33-year-old Heaney is one of only four left-handed pitchers in Major League Baseball to record 150-plus strikeouts in each of the past two seasons, joining the ranks of Yusei Kikuchi, Framber Valdez, and MacKenzie Gore.
“We’ve had interest in Andrew each of the last two times he’s been a free agent and we are excited to see him join our rotation,” said Pirates General Manager Ben Cherington. “We believe his track record and pitching style are a strong fit for our team and he strengthens and deepens our pitching staff.”
Heaney, a two-time nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award, is also among the few left-handed pitchers to have thrown at least 145.0 innings in each of the last two seasons, alongside Valdez, Kikuchi, Patrick Corbin, and JP Sears.
Having spent the 2023 and 2024 seasons with the Texas Rangers, Heaney is one of just eight left-handed pitchers to have made at least 25 starts in each of the past two seasons. This elite group includes Valdez, Kikuchi, Corbin, Gore, Sears, Tyler Anderson, and Austin Gomber.
Heaney was selected ninth overall in the 2012 First-Year Player Draft by the Miami Marlins out of Oklahoma State University. His 2.65 walks per 9.0 innings since making his Major League debut in 2014 is the eighth-lowest mark among Major League lefties (minimum 1000.0 innings) in that span, trailing only Clayton Kershaw (1.64), Chris Sale (1.98), David Price (2.12), Madison Bumgarner (2.19), Sean Manaea (2.55), Jon Lester (2.61), and Alex Wood (2.65).
As he enters the 2025 season, Heaney’s 20 career games with 10-plus strikeouts are the sixth-most among active left-handed pitchers, behind only Sale (87), Kershaw (68), Robbie Ray (40), Blake Snell (35), and Carlos Rodón (26).
