Cody Snavely
The Los Angeles Dodgers have reportedly made yet another tough roster decision while the team is in the midst a massive roster crunch and have decided to DFA veteran outfielder Jason Heyward.
Heyward, 35, re-signed with the Dodgers this past offseason after having a career resurgence in a platoon role last season hitting .269/.340/.473 with an .813 OPS.
Heyward was initially going to be the Dodgers primary right fielder with Betts shifting to a full-time middle infielder but after spending time on the 15-day injured list the Dodgers decided Betts playing right field full-time gives them the best opportunity to win now.
This trade deadline the Dodgers also acquired left-handed hitting center fielder Kevin Kiermaier in exchange for recently DFA’d lefty Ryan Yarbrough and in his short stint in Los Angeles has made a massive impact hitting .242/.286/.364 while also making plenty of highlight plays in center field.
This put Heyward’s playing time in an awkward spot and with utilityman Christ Taylor due to be activated on Friday the club had to make a decision on who the odd man out was.
While the 2023 regular season was a resurgent year in Dodger Blue the 2024 season has been the opposite .208/.289/.393 with a 91 wRC+, along with two stints on the injured list that have made it hard for him to get in a rhythm.
With Tommy Edman in center field, Mookie Betts in right field, and Teoscar Hernández in left field, Heyward’s value as a left-handed bat is to platoon or come off the bench against right-handed pitching.
However, Heyward this season has reverse splits hitting lefties (.308/.308/.538, 135 wRC+) better than righties (.200/.288/.381, 88 wRC+), which does not help the Dodgers lineup construction when the team is fully healthy.
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