When Mookie Betts returned to right field, playing time was not something that veteran Jason Heyward was going to see much of.
On Tuesday night, Heyward made his case for sticking around when he gave the Dodgers a 6-3 win over the Seattle Mariners with a pinch-hit go-ahead three-run home run in what turned out to be his final at-bat with the team.
Two days later, the Dodgers cut him loose and activated Chris Taylor from the injured list.
When Freeman received the news, he flashed back to 2014 when the Atlanta Braves traded Heyward to the St. Louis Cardinals.
His departure leaves an empty locker near Freeman in the clubhouse but it also leaves a larger void among friends as Freeman told reporters that his buddy isn’t really talking to anyone at the moment.
“I don’t think he’s talking to anybody,” Freeman said. “I mean, would you guys be wanting to talk if you got fired from your job? I’ve had three text messages [from him], and that’s three more than a lot of other people [have received].”
Heyward batted .208 with six homers and 28 runs batted in across 63 games with the Dodgers this season. He was playing on a $9 million, one-year deal.
Heyward spent seven seasons with the Chicago Cubs, helping them win the 2016 World Series, until he was released after the 2022 season.
Heyward and Freeman were drafted together by the Atlanta Braves in 2007. The two lived together for a time in the minors and their families are friends.
“It’s just when two people like Jason and I have the same feelings on life, not just baseball but everything in life, it’s easy to just become friends,” Freeman said in an interview last year. “We’re going on 17 years as friends and it’s going to last forever.”
Roberts informed Heyward of the decision on Wednesday and described the 35-year-old veteran’s reaction as “very grateful for the opportunity, very stoic, very professional.”
“What Jason did for the Dodgers in a year and a half was pretty remarkable on the field, in the clubhouse, in the community,” Roberts said Friday . “His fingerprint will be everlasting.”
Photo Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Have you subscribed to our YouTube channel ? Subscribe and hit that notification bell to stay up to date on all the latest Dodgers news, rumors, interviews, livestreams, and more!
Local News
