Pirates fans shouldn’t be comparing Andrew Heaney situation to 2024 Rowdy Tellez

Not even close.
Jul 26, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA;  Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Andrew Heaney (45) delivers a pitch against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the first inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
Jul 26, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Andrew Heaney (45) delivers a pitch against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the first inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

The Pittsburgh Pirates are moving veteran left-handed starting pitcher Andrew Heaney to the bullpen. They are doing this as Heaney has 119 innings on the year, one inning shy of reaching a $50K bonus. He will also now likely miss out on bonuses for reaching up to 170 innings pitched, increasing with every 10 IP starting at 120. While there are a select few who want to say this is Rowdy Tellez all over again, the numbers don’t lie. The two situations can’t be compared because of how different they are.

Heaney did get off to a strong start to the year. At the end of May, the southpaw had a 3.41 ERA, 4.50 FIP, and 1.22 WHIP over 60 2/3 innings. Heaney had an unimpressive 17.4% strikeout rate with a 9.4% walk rate, but on the plus side, he put up a respectable 1.01 HR/9. But since the start of June, Heaney has been one of the worst pitchers in all of Major League Baseball.

His last 58 1/3 innings have yielded a 6.63 ERA, 6.59 FIP and 1.42 WHIP. While he has cut his walk percentage down to a strong 5.4% rate, it is the only positive to draw. His already poor strikeout rate has fallen even further to 15%. Home runs and hard contact have become a massive issue. Heaney has allowed 2.62 HR/9, with a 91 MPH exit velocity and 11.9% barrel rate.

Heaney is near the bottom of many important stats. There have been 109 pitchers with at least 50 innings pitched since the start of June. He has the fourth-worst ERA, second-worst FIP, the highest HR/9 ratio, 12th-worst exit velocity, ninth-worst barrel rate, and a -0.5 fWAR. Nothing here suggests he is getting unlucky either. He also has the ninth-worst xFIP and the 10th-worst SIERA.

The Pirates' Andrew Heaney and Rowdy Tellez situations aren't comparable in the slightest

Sure, it’s not as if Rowdy Tellez was some superstar when the Pirates cut him, either. He ended the year with a 90 wRC+, .691 OPS, .301 wOBA, and -0.4 fWAR with the Pirates, all four stats of which Tellez ranked bottom ten among all first basemen with 400+ plate appearances in during 2024. He had also struggled badly in September, posting a 39 wRC+ during the month he was cut. But he performed well during the summer months, logging an .880 OPS, .373 wOBA, and 139 wRC+ from the start of June through the end of August.

But the timing and sort of roster move the Pirates are making make all the difference. Tellez was cut entirely from the roster, getting released on September 24, and just four plate appearances away from reaching a $200K bonus with mere days left in the season. The Pirates are only moving Heaney to the bullpen, and it's in the middle of August. He only needs one inning to reach his first bonus, and there’s still a decent chance he gets that second bump for hitting 130 innings.  The bottom line is Heaney is pretty much guaranteed to earn more. Tellez never got that opportunity.

Do the Pirates make plenty of cheap moves? Absolutely, yes, and it wouldn’t be shocking if this move was at least partially motivated by saving money. But the 29 other teams in the league would also do this if Heaney were on their roster. Even Heaney himself acknowledged he hasn’t earned the opportunity to stick in the Pirates’ rotation. He has been a bottom-10 pitcher in the league for the better part of 2.5 months now. Heaney's rotation spot could easily be replaced by a younger pitcher, even if it's not Bubba Chandler, and putting up a 6.00 ERA would be an improvement to Heaney's performance over the last few months.

At this point, it is on Heaney to pitch better and earn the bonuses, not the Pirates’ responsibility to keep starting a struggling pitcher and having to pay him more.