Hicks: Happ would be good fit for ‘our stadium’
TORONTO — Aaron Hicks says he doesn’t pay attention to trade talks at any point in the calendar, noting when he moved from the Twins to Yankees, he was working out in November when told by executive Terry Ryan he was headed to The Bronx. However, when J.A. Happ’s name was mentioned to the center fielder Friday afternoon before the Yankees’ 6-2 loss to the Blue Jays, Hicks was well aware how effectively the 35-year-old lefty has performed at Yankee Stadium. “He has pitched good at our stadium,’’ Hicks said of Happ, considered by many the best starter likely to be dealt as the July 31 deadline approaches. “He pitches good at our home.’’
In eight Bronx starts, Happ is 4-1 with a 3.94 ERA.
With general manager Brian Cashman not being shy about wanting to upgrade a rotation that has Masahiro Tanaka on the disabled list, Sonny Gray struggling and Domingo German still feeling his way through big league lineups, Happ has been linked to the Yankees.
The Brewers and Mariners are also interested in Happ, who will turn 36 in October and will be a free agent following the season.
“He is different from the first time when I faced him when he came to Toronto,’’ the switch-hitting Hicks said of Happ. “Now he throws a lot of fastballs in with a change-up and off-speed away.’’
Happ is preferred by many over fellow lefty Cole Hamels for several reasons. He is making $13 million this year compared to Hamels’ $23.5 million. A $24 million vesting option Hamels won’t reach has a pricy $6 million buyout attached to his contract. And Happ is throwing better than Hamels.
From May 16 to July 1, Happ was 6-1 with a 3.43 ERA in nine starts. Hamels was 1-3 with a 4.95 ERA in seven starts from May 27 to July 1.
Aaron Boone said he always is locked into the opposing pitcher, but Saturday he could be watching a pitcher Cashman might ask his opinion about acquiring.
“He has been really good since he came here pitching for the Blue Jays. He throws a lot of fastballs, a guy who can pitch to both sides of the plate,’’ Boone said of Happ, who is 40-19 with a 3.49 ERA since the start of the 2016 season and 10-4 with a 4.03 ERA this year. “He has a lot of deception in his delivery, a big guy who kind of short-arms it. He is a guy who neutralizes righties and lefties. He has been a really good pitcher in this league for a while.’’
Boone compared Happ to another lefty who relied on location more than pushing the speed guns to triple digiits.
“I go back to Philly and Cliff Lee, a quick arm, a little deception in there and able to pitch up in the zone,’’ Boone said. “[Happ] has turned out to have a really nice career and is still going strong.’’ Will that continue with the Yankees? Happ might shed some more light on it following Saturday’s start when he is matched against ace Luis Severino.
“I prefer to talk later on,’’ Happ said in the Blue Jays’ clubhouse Friday afternoon. “If you guys don’t mind.’’
By then Happ could be one step closer to calling Yankee Stadium home and leaving a bad team for perhaps the best in baseball. And the Yankees would get a lot stronger subbing Happ for German in a rotation that will get Tanaka back from the DL on Tuesday in Baltimore.