ANAHEIM, Calif. ― Rangers general manager Chris Young maintains that “being a good teammate” is one of the pillars of the organization.
On Saturday, the Rangers put their money where there mouth is, too.
By letting Andrew Heaney work through four innings against the Los Angeles Angels on a night when he clearly lacked his best stuff, the Rangers essentially paid a $1.5 million bonus for the pitcher’s selflessness during the 2023 run to the playoffs. Heaney’s four innings of work in what appeared to be headed for a lopsided loss, got him to exactly 160 innings for the year, thus unlocking the last of his performance bonuses for the season. And though Heaney allowed seven runs in his four innings, the Rangers staged their biggest comeback of the season in a 9-8 win.
“Chris Young sold me on a vision that they were going to be competitive on and off the field,” said Heaney who signed a one-year deal that included a player option ahead of the 2023 season. “He said we are going to do the right things by people, by players and by fans. As a player, sometimes you can have a cynical look at that stuff, but this felt like a nod to to the way I handled the year, the way I pushed through. This felt like a nod to that.
“It’s really not about the money for me. It was just the acknowledgement that they were giving me another chance and that they valued me. Chris and Bruce Bochy are baseball lifers and they understand what it means. I believed everything Chris told me when I signed here. It has been everything he presented and more.”
It also showed the Rangers remembered not just what Heaney has done for them lately, but also what he did last season.
Heaney was moved to the bullpen for much of last September and ended 2023 with 147 ⅓ innings. It left him eight outs shy of unlocking an escalator in his player option that would have increased his 2024 salary from $12 million in 2023 to $20 million for 2024. Had he reached that threshold, however, he would have lot lost the ability to accrue performance bonuses.
The way the contract was written, Heaney could still exercise the player option at $13 million, if he fell short of 150 innings, and still accrue performance bonuses. He made $750,000 for reaching 100 innings, $1.25 million for reaching 120 and $1.5 million for 140 innings in 2023. His final bonus threshold was at 160 innings and was worth $1.5 million. He reached three of those bonuses in 2023 for a total of $3.5 million in additional earnings. His total compensation for 2024 will reach $18 million. And with the Rangers already over the CBT threshold, that extra $1.5 million is going to cost them an extra $450,000 in luxury tax money. Heaney can be a free agent after this season.
He began Saturday with 156 innings over 31 appearances (30 starts), second only to Nathan Eovaldi in innings pitched. Though he needed only four innings entering Saturday to reach the last bonus level, it looked like Heaney would fall short. He allowed three runs in the second inning, then allowed back-to-back homers by No. 7 hitter Gustavo Campero and No. 8 hitter Niko Kavadas in the third. The seven runs allowed were the most he’s allowed this season in a year marked by poor run support.
Despite having thrown 74 pitches in the first three innings of work, Heaney went back out for the fourth, then proceeded to retire the side on 14 pitches to unlock the last bonus. He was removed for the fifth, finishing the year at exactly 160 innings and with a 4.28 ERA.
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