Former Dodger Jason Heyward already making his mark with Astros

There are two outs and two baserunners in the top of the eighth inning of a World Series game in Dodger Stadium, the Houston Astros are down by two, and to the plate comes pinch-hitter Jason Heyward, whose last at-bat in Chavez Ravine produced a game-winning, pinch-hit three-run home run for the Dodgers on Aug. 20.

Can you imagine?

Heyward claims he hasn’t entertained the thought, even though the scenario would give the 35-year-old outfielder a chance to exact revenge on the team that designated him for assignment two days after his dramatic eighth-inning homer off Seattle closer Andrés Muñoz gave the Dodgers a 6-3 victory over the Mariners.

“We’ve got a lot of stuff to take care of before that happens,” said Heyward, who signed with the American League West-leading Astros on Aug. 29 and is in Anaheim for a three-game weekend series against the Angels.

“If I’m thinking about stuff like that, then I’m not thinking about what I have to do tonight. I’m thinking too far ahead. I have an opportunity right here in front of me.”

Typical Heyward. Staying “where my feet are,” as he likes to say, remaining humble, acting like a true professional, some of the traits that made him one of the most respected and well-liked players on the Dodgers and have endeared him to his new teammates in Houston.

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“When you bring someone in like that, it was more than a necessity we had in right field,” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “It’s his experience, the respect he has from teammates and coaches, a voice that could influence some of your younger players and fit right in with our winning culture.

“He’s been exactly what we expected and more, because he’s not only contributing on the field, he has a voice, and he’s not afraid of opening up and helping our guys. He won in Chicago. He won in L.A. He knows what that air of winning feels like.”

Heyward made a good first impression in his Astros debut with a two-run double in a 6-3 win over Kansas City in Minute Maid Park on Aug. 29. He hit a two-run homer in Houston’s 6-3 win over Oakland on Thursday.

There wasn’t much in between. The left-handed-hitting Heyward has made five starts in right field, as the Astros ease starter Kyle Tucker back from a right-shin fracture, and Heyward entered Saturday with a .143 average (three for 21) and four RBIs in 12 games.

“The challenge is that your role is not necessarily going to be defined — t’s always going to be what’s best to help the team win,” said Heyward, who has been traded once and released twice but had never switched teams in-season during his 15-year career.

“To come to a new clubhouse this late, you want to get acclimated and as comfortable as you can right away. You have to do that at an expedited pace, because you also want to focus on your job and help the team win.”

Heyward’s contributions don’t always show up in the box score. He struck out in two at-bats against Arizona last weekend, but he had a hand in the Astros winning two of three games from the Diamondbacks.

“That was a team he’s seen a lot of, so in our pre-series meeting, he had a lot of information to share,” Espada said. “When one of their pitchers came in from the bullpen, he became kind of a hitting coach, because he’s faced those guys and sees patterns, so he helps guys out. That’s been huge.”

Houston reliever Caleb Ferguson, a Dodgers teammate of Heyward in 2023, has already seen the leadership qualities Heyward displayed in Los Angeles.

“To see a player who’s had a career like his be locked in every single pitch, whether he’s playing or not playing, can open some eyes,” Ferguson said. “It’s like, ‘Wow, OK, everything they do is with intent,’ and I think it’s good.”

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Heyward, who helped the Cubs win the 2016 World Series, signed a minor league deal with the Dodgers and hit .269 with an .813 on-base-plus-slugging percentage, 15 homers and 40 RBIs in 124 games in 2023.

He returned on a one-year, $9-million deal this season but missed six weeks of April and May because of a back injury, two weeks of July because of a knee injury and hit .208 with a .682 OPS, six homers and 28 RBIs in 63 games.

Heyward was reduced to a pinch-hitting role when Mookie Betts moved from shortstop back to right field upon returning from a left-hand fracture on Aug. 12. With the Dodgers needing a spot for veteran utility man Chris Taylor, Heyward was the odd man out in a roster crunch.

“I don’t think I have to be bitter [toward the Dodgers],” Heyward said. “I left it out there on the field. It’s part of the game, part of the business. The people in the front office are always going to do what they think is best for the team to win, and that’s that.”

Espada did not know how Heyward’s Dodgers career ended before a reporter informed him of the pinch-hit homer on Friday. It turns out Heyward’s final hit for his former team helped his new team retain a five-game AL West lead over the Mariners that night.

“Wow, well thank you, Jason Heyward,” Espada said, “and then he comes here and he’s helping us win games, too.”

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.