Report: Sox ‘showing interest' in veteran starter Happ

The Red Sox are in dire need of starting pitching help this winter, and they're reportedly in on a former Yankee.

The Sox are "showing interest" in veteran lefthander J.A. Happ, according to MLB Network's Jon Morosi. The Yankees declined the 38-year-old Happ's $17 million option, making him a free agent. The Angels and Blue Jays have also reportedly shown interest in Happ.

Happ's best days are behind him, but he had a solid 2020, going 2-2 with 3.47 ERA in nine starts. That included an eight-inning shutout of the Red Sox on Sept. 19 at Fenway Park, where the former Blue Jay has pitched 66 2/3 innings, more than any other ballpark in the majors he's played as an opponent. Happ has a career 2.57 ERA at Fenway.

Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom has made it a priority to add starting pitching this winter after the staff's brutal performance in 2020 and the looming returns of Eduardo Rodriguez and Chris

Sale. But Happ would likely be no more than a backend starter and depth option as the Red Sox try to fill gaps in their rotation.

"Clearly for anybody who has spent any time watching us in 2020, it was obviously an issue," Bloom said earlier this month of the Red Sox' pitching in 2020. "There were a lot of different reasons for that. Obviously health, both arm health and the virus, as you guys all know, played a role. But those are the things we have to build for. We have to expect those things and that's why depth is important.

"We have to make sure we are aggressive in amassing both short-term and long-term depth. Starters, relievers, everywhere in between. We clearly did not have what we needed in that regard in 2020. I think by the end of the year looking ahead we could feel better about it than we might have on Opening Day, but we still have a lot of work to do."