According to Bill Veeck, one of Rickey's favorite tricks was to offer another team two players and trust that the other team would take the wrong one. In the case of Lee and Heise, Rickey knew that all but one Cubs pitcher was right-handed, and expected the Cubs to take Heise, a left-hander. However, on the advice of chief scout Jack Doyle, the Cubs took Lee.
Rickey's strategy involved manipulating another team's decision by offering players with the intention of getting them to choose incorrectly. This was based on the assumption that the opposing team would be more likely to select a left-handed pitcher over a right-handed one, given the Cubs' pitching staff composition.