After 14 successful seasons in the MLB, it appears that New York Yankees free agent J.A. Happ is becoming a hot commodity in the free agent market. Among the interested teams are the Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Angels, Texas Rangers, and Toronto Blue Jays. Happ previously played with the Blue Jays during the 2012-14 and 2016-18 seasons.
Last season, the 38-year old ranked fourth among current free agent pitchers in ERA+ with at least 40 innings pitched. He finished the shortened season with a 2-2 record and 3.47 ERA. His ERA total was the second-best in New York last season outside of Gerrit Cole.
Each of the respective suitors have a different case to sign Happ.
Boston became recently interested in Happ’s services, and it makes sense. He has thrown more innings pitched at Fenway Park (66.2 IP) than any other away field. With a career 2.57 ERA in Boston, he could become a unique addition.
During his time with Toronto, Happ compiled a 59-41 record and 3.88 ERA across 745.1 innings pitched. During the 2016 season, he was labeled as a Cy Young candidate after totaling a 20-4 record as a starter. Could a reunion with the Blue Jays to end his career be in the cards?
For the Rangers, their 5.02 team ERA ranked 23rd in the MLB. With the addition of Happ, it would be an immediate improvement upon their starting rotation.
The Angels would be an interesting fit, simply because General Manager Perry Minasian, who previously worked in the Blue Jays front office, was responsible for acquiring Happ on two different occasions. It would not come as a surprise if the Angels held leverage to bring in Happ to Los Angeles in pursuit of a postseason spot.
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