J. Hey and The Freight Train

When the Dodgers signed David Peralta and Jason Heyward, Dodger fans were less than enthused. And I must admit, I was one of them. Heyward was coming off of a year where he was worse than horrendous. And the Cubs were willing to pay him for not playing.

Peralta was coming back after a season in which he had been traded at the deadline. He did not impress anyone with his play in Tampa. He was still a decent hitter and his track record as a very good defender was intact. He was signed to a one year 6.5-million-dollar deal in February.

Heyward was coming off of a terrible season with the Cubs. He played in 48 games, had one homer and hit just .204. It was an easy decision for the Cubs to just release him and eat his close to 22-million-dollar contract. He was for all practical purposes, out of baseball.

His best friend rode to his rescue. Freddie Freeman and Heyward had been close since they both were in the Braves system. Freddie went to bat with the Dodger front office telling them he still felt Heyward had a lot in his tank. All he really needed was some new input and a place to practice it. It worked, on the 8th of December, the Dodgers signed Heyward to a minor league contract with an invite to spring training.

To be honest, his chances of making the team were not all that good. The Dodgers were set to use Peralta and Taylor in left field, Trayce Thompson and James Outman, if he made the team, in center, and Mookie Betts as the primary RF. But there were several other outfielders in camp on minor league deals, most with major league experience and younger than Heyward.

There was Steven Duggar, Bradley Zimmer. Later they would be joined by David Dahl, Kole Calhoun, and Jake Marisnick, who has an outside chance at making the 26-man playoff roster. To be honest, neither Peralta or Heyward impressed much in spring. Heyward hit .200 with 2 homers and Peralta came in at .143 with 1 homer. But both made the roster. As did Trayce Thompson who had a horrible spring.

But the Dodgers were giving Thompson a long leash simply because of the way he played in 22. He rewarded them early with a three-homer game. But after that the wheels came off of the wagon and he nosed dived. He would eventually be part of the package sent to the White Sox for Lynn and Kelly.

Both players started off slow. But as each’s playing time became more consistent, so did their contributions. Both were providing solid defense, and when the Vargas at second base experiment was brought to a close, Heyward’s increased production allowed Mookie to move to second base against RHP. In the first half, Heyward hit a solid .254 with 8 homers and an OPS of .811.

In the last 43 games, he has been on fire, .325/7/18 with an OPS of .947. All this from a guy who hit .204 last year. He has totally revamped his swing. He chases a lot less than he did the last several years, and on top of his production, he has been a solid clubhouse guy and one of their leading teachers to the young guys.

Peralta had a solid first half, batting .265 with 6 homers and 26 driven in. He also had the first walk-off hit of the year. But he has sagged some in avg the second half, .260, his power has not been there as he has only 1 homer. And his OBP is only .297. He also is a huge clubhouse presence. And despite his lower bat production, his defense has been stellar. Just imagine where the Dodgers would be without these two guys.

Of the two, I would say Heyward has a better chance of being re-signed. I also believe he is very appreciative of the opportunity to resurrect his career that the Dodgers have given him. That and his long-standing friendship with Freeman, should be enough to get the Dodgers some sort of discount for his services. They are paying him the major league minimum of 720,000 dollars, and the Cubs are paying him 21.38 million to play for the Dodgers. Quite the bargain for LA.