Angels continue their recruitment of former Blue Jays by trading for Tyler Heineman

The Los Angeles Angels have been giving opportunities to former Toronto Blue Jays players in recent years. Whether it be Yusei Kikuchi, Travis d’Arnaud, Alek Manoah, or Jordan Romano, the Angels had believed enough in their abilities to give them a chance.

Tyler Heineman can be added to the list as Los Angeles traded for the, now former, Blue Jays catcher in exchange for cash considerations on Wednesday (Jun. 17). Heineman was recently designated for assignment by Toronto in order to retain a rising Brandon Valenzuela as the backup catcher when Alejandro Kirk was activated off of the injured list.

Tyler Heineman was a key contributor to Blue Jays' World Series run in 2025

Heineman played a key role for the Blue Jays in 2025 in their magical run to the World Series. As the main backup to Kirk, the 34-year-old veteran put together his best ever season last year by posting a stellar .289 average, .777 OPS, along with 25 runs scored, three home runs and 20 RBIs in 61 games of action with Toronto.

However, this year has been a completely different story as Heineman had struggled immensely from an offensive standpoint. In 31 games played to date, he had compiled just a .154 average, .410 OPS, with just six runs scored, one home run, six RBIs and 19 strikeouts in 78 total at-bats.

Nevertheless, Heineman still ranks among the best catchers in all of baseball from a defensive standpoint with a +6 Defensive Runs Saved while leading the American League in catching 36.4% of would-be base stealers. That was likely what attracted the Angels to take a flyer on him.

With Logan O’Hoppe as the main starting catcher, along with backups d’Arnaud and Sebastian Rivero currently on the injured list, Heineman will now have the opportunity to battle it out with Omar Martínez for the backup spot in Los Angeles. O’Hoppe may be a significant contributor for the Angels with his bat, but he has been somewhat of a liability from the defensive side of things.

This season, he has already registered a -7 DRS, -8 Fielding Run Value and -9 in Blocks Above Average, ranking him among the bottom five percentile in the league in those stats. As a result, Heineman can help significantly improve that aspect of the Angels’ game if he were to get any solid playing time.

As for the Blue Jays, they likely knew that Heineman would get picked up through waivers, so to get anything back was an added bonus with the cash considerations.

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