Dodgers Acquire Chris Heisey From Reds, For Matt Magill

The Dodger’s bizarre winter of discontent continues as they made another puzzling move. The club has announced they have acquired outfielder Chris Heisey from the Reds in exchange for right hander Matt Magill. Jerry Crasnick reported the move on twitter Tuesday evening.

Heisey was arbitration eligible this winter after making 1.76 million dollars last season. The 29-year old outfielder is projected to make a little over two million dollars in 2015.

I am assuming this is a move for the bench, as Heisey has been a part time payer and pinch-hitter over the last several seasons. Heisey is a right handed batter and was drafted by the Reds in the seventeenth round of the 2006 amateur draft.

Heisey made his MLB debut for Cincinnati in 2010. Over the course of his five year MLB career, Heisey is a .247 hitter with a .721 OPS and 50 big league home runs. Last season Heisey batted just .222 with a .265 OBP in 299 plate appearances. In 119 games Heisey hit eight home runs with 22 runs batted in and a .643 OPS.

Chris Heisey-Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports

Heisey’s defensive metrics show him as a very solid outfielder. He can play all three outfield positions, and has a plus defensive rating at all three. He has a +15 total zone fielding runs above average, and has 17 career defensive runs saved.

Magill appeared in six games for the Dodgers in 2013, posting an 0-2 record, and a 6.51 ERA in 28 innings pitched. He walked 26 in those 28 frames. The 25-year old Simi Valley native was a thirty-first round draft pick out of the 2008 amateur draft.

The right young right hander had a history of control problems in the minors, and in his brief time in the majors. Magill walked 59 in 84.2 innings pitched for the Albuquerque Isotopes last season. He finished with a 7-6 record, and a 5.21 ERA split between the Tope’s starting rotation and bullpen. In 36 games he posted a 1.6 WHIP with 70 strikeouts.

The Dodgers already have an overcrowded outfield situation, and acquiring another outfielder only mucks it up even further. But this looks like a move to strengthen the Dodger bench. I don’t think Heisey is worth a young starting pitcher like Magill, but from what we’ve already seen from Magill, I’m not impressed.

I guess you can say the Dodgers are getting Heisey with it in 2015.