J.A. WALKIN’
Former Yank lefty Happ decides to leave town, signs free-agent deal with Twins
J.A. Happ is off the board. The former Yankee pitcher, who left the Bronx on shaky terms, agreed to a one-year deal with the Twins on Wednesday, according to The Athletic.
Happ felt the Yankees last season intentionally held back his starts so they wouldn’t have to pay out his $17 million vesting option, which would have kicked in if he had made 10 starts and threw 62 innings during the pandemic-shortened, 60-game season.
Happ spent two-plus seasons with the Yankees with a 4.13 ERA (274.1 innings, 126 earned runs) over 51 games (50 starts) and 245 strikeouts.
Even though he started off rocky because of the shortened spring and rearranged schedules resulting from the pandemic, he showed flashes of brilliance during his 2020 season, especially down the stretch. During a September series against the Red Sox in Boston, he threw eight shutout innings and was arguably one of the best and most consistent pitchers in a rotation that included Gerrit Cole and Masahrio Tanaka — even though GM Brian Cashman said Happ’s starts correlated with his performance of not being one of the better in the rotation.
“I don’t think I can put it into words,” Happ said of his turnaround in September. “I appreciate the support from the players here in this room and it just certainly means a lot and it feels good.”
He finished last season with a 3.47 ERA, 1.2 WAR and 1.054 WHIP after nine starts and 49.1 innings during the regular season. He then became a free agent.
Happ, 38, started his career with the Phillies before moving to the Astros, Blue Jays and briefly the Mariners before ending up in the Bronx. He has a career 3.98 ERA over 1,741.1 innings with 1,539 strikeouts.