Yankees: New Andrew Heaney rumor shows he can’t handle New York

The New York Yankees added some big bats at the trade deadline, but one addition that raised some eyebrows was the plucking of former top prospect Andrew Heaney away from the Los Angeles Angels.

Considering how he had performed up until that point, the acquisition seemed a bit odd.

Heaney, owner of a 4.72 ERA in his career, amassed a 5.27 ERA in 18 starts with the Angels this season. Despite the fact he lacks the velocity or statistical achievements that would warrant such an optimistic projection, New York figured he could be a spot starter and long reliever for the playoff run.

That hasn’t happened.

Not only has Heaney been so bad that opposing players are just teeing off on him, but those home runs are coming in close games due to the fact he has earned Aaron Boone’s unwavering trust. Heaney has been poor amid a rough stretch for the Yankees, and it sounds like the Angels predicted this.

Ian O’Connor of the New York Post reported that when Heaney was acquired by the Yankees, Angels coaches told a prominent figure that he wasn’t equipped to handle the pressure of pitching for the Yankees in New York.

While pitching in Los Angeles can be tough, pitching for the second-biggest team in the city in the Angels when compared to a marquee franchise like the Yankees is a completely different beast.

Andrew Heaney isn’t performing well with the Yankees.

Heaney owns a ghastly 7.71 ERA in nine appearances, five of which were starts, for the Yankees. In just 30.1 innings, Heaney has given up 26 runs and surrendered 11 home runs, which is good for a 55 ERA+. Heaney is already fifth on the team in home runs allowed.

For the sake of comparison, Jordan Montgomery is in fourth place with1 4 bombs surrendered, but he has pitched 135 innings. The fact that Boone is willing to let Heaney work through his mistakes to this degree in the middle of a playoff race could certainly be called bold.

The idea of Heaney may have made sense in practice, as he could eat up innings out of the bullpen or hurl five frames a handful of times if injuries got the better of the staff, but he appears totally overwhelmed by the prospect of getting big outs for the Yankees.

Meanwhile, the Angels got a quality young pitcher from New York in Janson Junk.

The Yankees might’ve thought that they had the ingredients needed to turn Heaney around. However, he appears to be going the way of Ed Whitson, Steve Trout, Carl Pavano, Jack McDowell, and countless other Yankee starters that just couldn’t handle the pressure of performing in the pinstripes.

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