Jays add valuable depth by moving Happ to Yanks

But shipping ace lefty to the Bronx leaves rotation in tatters, writes Rob Longley.

TORONTO He has loved his time in Blue Jays blue, but J.A. Happ is about to get fitted for New York Yankees pinstripes.

The veteran left-hander, fresh off his first appearance at the MLB all-star game, was dealt to the AL East rival Yankees on Thursday in return for utility man Brandon Drury and outfielder Billy Mckinney.

The deal didn’t include a highend prospect — Mckinney was ranked 20th in the deep Yankees system — but has the potential to help the Jays sooner rather than later.

With the loss of Happ, however, the Jays’ starting rotation is in tatters, losing its one and only reliable arm and one of the steadiest starting pitchers in the American League over the last three seasons.

The Happ deal was finalized hours after another trade became official: the swapping of reliever Seung-hwan Oh to the Colorado Rockies for prospects Forrest Wall and Chad Spanberger.

Moving Happ had the biggest potential for a good haul, however, and had been rumoured for weeks. Jays general manager Ross Atkins had nothing but praise for the veteran, who weathered the speculation with class and professionalism.

“He’s been very consistent and extremely steady,” Atkins said of Happ. “It was really, really inspiring to be around him. He was focused and driven on being a Toronto Blue Jay.”

That the 35-year-old veteran was traded to a division rival is noteworthy. The Jays are signalling that they’re nowhere near being competitive with the Yankees or Boston Red Sox.

This is no surprise and the possibility of Happ returning to Toronto as a free agent still exists.

It will be viewed as a bittersweet deal by Happ, who at last week’s all-star game professed his love for his adopted city. Then again, on a team that’s been out of playoff relevance since May, going to a contender is a carrot to feed his competitive side.

Happ was considered one of the best starters available in advance of the July 31 trade deadline, with the Yankees rumoured to be the most enamoured suitor. As speculation heated significantly over the previous 24 hours, the Yanks got their man on Thursday afternoon.

Moving forward, the Jays get a pair of players that Atkins insists takes away some of the risk, while also adding depth.

Drury, who already has majorleague experience with the Arizona Diamondbacks, will be in Chicago with the team on Friday and there’s a good chance he’ll make his Jays debut against the White Sox, while Mckinney is expected to report to triple-a Buffalo.

The team certainly has a glut of position players barring any future trades, depth Atkins feels will be beneficial going forward.

“We’ll have opportunities for guys to play,” Atkins said. “If it means someone goes to tripleA, that’s a good scenario for an organization. When an organization has those tough decisions, that’s where you want to be.

Drury is seen as a potential starting third baseman, which has implications elsewhere in the organization. Josh Donaldson, buried on the disabled list for the majority of this season, has an uncertain future at best with the Jays. And then there’s Vlad Guerrero Jr., the super prospect who plays at the hot corner.

Drury, who has shuffled between the Yankees and tripleA this season, was acquired from Arizona last winter. He’s battled injury this season, but is seen as a versatile prospect, a potential super-utility player who couldn’t crack the deep Yankees lineup.

“Brandon hasn’t had the opportunity this year and we feel we can have that for him going forward,” said Atkins, adding second, third and the outfield are all possible spots for him.

Outfielder Mckinney’s progress has been stunted by the Bronx Bombers’ depth at the position. Drury was essentially demoted to triple-a after rookie Miguel Andujar took over every day at third base.

Part of the attraction in Drury is that he’s under club control through 2021, which makes him a nice fit with the rebuild that will soon be hitting high speed.

Both players are considered to have some serious upside, but lacked opportunity in the Bronx.

“You’re always balancing risk with upside,” Atkins said of acquiring players that had moved beyond the prospect stage. “We feel there’s upside to these players. That does mitigate some of the risk.”

The Yankees, currently trying to keep pace with Boston in a two-horse race atop the AL East, believe Happ can help them in the pursuit. The teams meet 10 more times this season and Happ has an 0.84 ERA versus the Red Sox in two games this season.

The other factor — besides the appeal of having a proven lefty available for the rotation — is Happ’s ERA of 3.55 since 2016 is 10th best in the AL.