The Los Angeles Dodgers lost a massive piece of their rotation recently as Walker Buehler underwent Tommy John Surgery. Thankfully, they still have solid options when it comes to the postseason. The return of Andrew Heaney just shows how many guys can step in and contribute when the lights are brightest.

Heaney, who missed substantial time with an injury, came back about a month ago and Dave Roberts has slowly been easing him into going deeper into ballgames. Wednesday saw him absolutely deal against the Brewers, tossing six innings and striking out 10.

Roberts spoke about the role that Andrew Heaney could play when it comes to October baseball, given his experience as a starter and reliever. Via MLB.com:

“It’s part of the calculus,” Roberts said of Heaney’s bullpen experience. “There's a lot of thought that goes into putting the player in the best position to have success.”

Tony Gonsolin, Dustin May, and Julio Urias are locks. If Clayton Kershaw is progressing well enough after his back injury, he will be in the rotation too. There will be no travel days in the NLDS or NLCS this season, which means the Dodgers will need a five-man staff. That leaves the fifth spot between the impressive Tyler Anderson and Andrew Heaney.

Whatever Heaney's role ends up being, however, he'll certainly be someone that Roberts relies on. As of Thursday, he's got a 1.94 ERA in nine starts, striking out 62 in just 41.2 innings. That's a far cry from his 7.32 ERA in the second half of 2021 with the New York Yankees.