Pirates Starter Andrew Heaney's Demotion Absolutely Blasted

A column by Mark Madden today in TribLive has the title, "Why would any player trust the Pirates?" Too nasty? Not if you were to ask starting pitcher Andrew Heaney.

Heaney was sent to the bullpen this past week, and in his first outing in relief, Sunday, was pulled after 2/3 of an inning, leaving him with 119.2 innings pitched this season.

Why is that significant? Heaney has a $50,000 bonus coming to him at the 120 innings mark. And a $100,000 bonus at the 130 innings mark, $150K for 140 innings and 150 innings,... and so on.

Just when you thought the Pittsburgh Pirates couldn’t be a more unlikable organization…

They just fucked over starting pitcher Andrew Heaney the rest of the season

Here’s why 👉🏻 pic.twitter.com/EU1x0OSW3o
— Uncovered MLB (@UncoveredMLB) August 17, 2025

Madden writes in his column that this "reeks" of what they did to Rowdy Tellez last season, when they released him just four plate appearances short of a $200,000 bonus.

Here's how Madden thinks the Heaney drama will unfold:

"The Pirates will let Heaney reach that $50,000 bonus (at 120 innings), seeming almost magnanimous... (But) Heaney won’t get to 130 innings. No chance.

But by allowing him to get to 120 innings, the Pirates make it appear like Heaney’s demotion was purely a baseball decision. The stooge media will validate."

True, Heaney has a 7.96 ERA in July and August. Demotion-worthy, right? But ace Mitch Keller has an 8.63 ERA over his last four starts, points out Madden. "If the Pirates benched everybody who stinks, they would have a tough time finding nine bodies to put out there."

But Madden doesn't let the Pirates off just yet. He doubles down, turning even more unequivocal in his thoughts:

The Pirates make every decision based on money. No matter how trifling the sum by typical MLB franchise standards.
The Pirates shouldn’t be covered like a baseball team. The Pirates should be covered like an ongoing criminal investigation. In adversarial fashion. The Pirates cheat the public and their players.

Yikes.

Another dreadful season for the Pirates and their fans. It seems a shame to waste that wonderful ballpark.