The Los Angeles Dodgers’ latest roster crunch has squeezed out one of its most popular clubhouse presences, as the club designated veteran outfielder Jason Heyward for assignment Thursday.
The Dodgers’ cluster of position player injuries has resolved itself, and with veteran utility man Chris Taylor activated off the injured list Thursday, Heyward became a notable odd man out.
Heyward’s final swing as a Dodger was a powerful one, coming off the bench in the eighth inning of Tuesday night’s game against the Seattle Mariners and turning around a 99 mph Andrés Muñoz fastball for a go-ahead three-run home run to secure a victory.
“Shoot, that was probably the highlight for me of the season thus far,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said that night.
GO AHEAD, J-HEY. pic.twitter.com/KQy20Kzwhs
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) August 21, 2024
In the face of the looming roster crunch, it provided a compelling argument.
“I think (the decision) is going to be what it’s going to be, no matter what,” Heyward said after that home run. “Years like this, when a team is all-in, I think they always have to put their best foot forward, and whatever happens, happens.
“But I think personally, it’s pretty cool to be No. 23 for this club, to hit a couple of majestic No. 23-type homers, not in the postseason, but for where we want to go.”
The home run was impactful, especially for a Dodgers club that still could use a left-handed bat off the bench. Yet even with that swing, Heyward has hit .197/.254/.344 with just two home runs since the start of July. Acquired and re-signed to a one-year, $9 million deal this winter specifically to hit right-handed pitching, Heyward has just a .669 OPS against righties this season.
Heyward was a respected figure within the Dodgers clubhouse, a 2010 All-Star and a five-time Gold Glover whose voice carried weight not just with his peers but with the coaching staff; Heyward and Freddie Freeman, teammates and roommates through their time in the Atlanta Braves minor league system, were nearly inseparable after Freeman vouched for the organization to acquire Heyward as a minor-league free agent ahead of the 2023 season.
GO DEEPER
Jason Heyward and Freddie Freeman have a friendship built to last
But given the alternatives, it was hard to find much of a fit moving forward.
Mookie Betts’ return to right field essentially cut off Heyward’s path to logging starts, forcing him to a bench role, if anything.
Kevin Kiermaier, a fellow veteran left-handed hitting outfielder who the Dodgers acquired at the deadline, carries a premium center field glove and has shown more competence with the bat since arriving in Los Angeles than he had in Toronto, where the club had subjected him to waivers.
The club still values what Kiké Hernández has provided as a versatile defender, giving the club additional coverage at shortstop behind Miguel Rojas (who was scratched from Wednesday’s lineup with a “balky” left hamstring, per Roberts) and Tommy Edman.
And the Dodgers are still viewing Taylor as a potential October contributor and “a part of what we’ve done, what we’re doing this year, next year.” He, like Hernández, provides positional versatility, and while his bat floundered in the first half of the season, Taylor said this week he’s worked through some “drastic” changes in his swing to look to drive the baseball more. Taylor is still under contract through 2025, where he’s owed $13 million.
“This is the tough part of the job,” Roberts said. “It’s a good thing that you have a lot of good players. But you only have so many spots.”
Another spot will come free on Sept. 1, when rosters expand and the Dodgers are expected to add one position player and one pitcher for the season’s final month. All indications are the Dodgers will recall rookie Andy Pages as their extra man at the start of the month, giving the club another corner outfield option (who also largely played center field this season) to their bench as they configure their best alignment for October.
Moving on now provides Heyward a chance at October, as well. If a club claims Heyward off waivers or acquires him before Sept. 1, he will be postseason-eligible.
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(Photo: Kirby Lee / USA Today)
