The Yankees have unsurprisingly declined their $17MM club option on left-hander J.A. Happ, reports Mark Feinsand of MLB.com (Twitter link). The option did not come with a buyout figure, so the Yankees will simply allow Happ to hit free agency.
This has seemed the way Happ’s time in the Bronx would come to an end for a while. His contract, signed in December 2018 and containing a two-year, $34MM guarantee, came with a 2021 club option that would’ve vested had Happ started 27 games or thrown 165 innings in 2020. Prorated to ten starts and/or 62 innings during the shortened season, the southpaw was held to nine starts totaling 49.1 innings last year. That proved to be a source of frustration for Happ, who suggested the Yankees were deliberately curtailing his workload to keep the option from vesting. Whether or not that was the case, he did indeed come up short of those marks and will hit the open market.
To his credit, Happ was actually pretty productive in 2020. He pitched to a 3.47 ERA over those nine starts, albeit with some reasons to question his ability to continue to prevent runs at that level. Happ benefited from a .223 opponents batting average on balls in play and stranded a lofty 81.3% of the baserunners he allowed. A few more batted balls finding grass and less timely sequencing would have pushed that ERA closer to his 4.57 fielding independent pitching mark.
Nevertheless, the 38-year-old has been plenty durable the past few seasons and offered solid production at the back of teams’ rotations. His age limits his earning power (he might be capped at one-year offers), but Happ profiles as a solid candidate to bolster some team’s rotation depth.
Regardless of previous years and part season results, Happ really stepped up this year for the Yanks. Kind of a shame to see him go.
Lol no Yankee fan whose watched Happ over the past couple of years feels this way
For real. Seems like a a nice guy but don’t let the door hit ya on the way out
Nice guys finish last. He’s been mediocre at best for NY. Don’t let the door hit you, indeed!
He seems to pitch well enough at times to tease you, but then realty steps in.
Sorry. reality..
“He seems to pitch well enough at times to tease you, but then reality steps in.”
–that perfectly summarizes JA Happ’s Yankee career.
It’s official: rpf515 is Happ himself.
Collective cheers from the Bronx all the way down to Tampa lol
Angels need to go get happ and kluber. Odds are one or other will pan out
Bauer to
maybe not kluber
they need quantity over quality at this point
We need one of each. Stroman, Bundy, Heaney, Canning, and one of the myriad of second tier free agents such as Happ, Walker, etc to shore up the back end is a decent rotation.
Would need bullpen help still.
Why would Bauer go there? It’s not as if they’re winning anytime soon.
Kind of a weird cycle isn’t it? Top FA pitchers would rather play for winning franchises and don’t play for LAA. The reason LAA isn’t competitive next year is because they failed to sign to pitching.
injury history meets LAA? Disaster!
Wasn’t it a vesting option originally?
he needed a certain amount of starts this year (maybe 10 or 11) but early in the year the Yankees skipped him a few times which cost him the option and he was vocal to the media about not liking that
moreso he was in the wrong rotation spot at the wrong time when games were being ppd due to positives. he needed 10 starts and got 9. im rejoicing hes not coming back
I always liked Happ, he seemed to turn it on when needed…but at $17M this was a no brainer, I bet Yanks would consider him at $7-8M on a 1-year
Given the host of internal options now (German, Garcia, Schmidt, King, Montgomery, and Severino in July) I think they’d prefer to give a shot to someone within their system.
If they bring anyone back on a smaller deal i’d prefer Paxton, who is a bounce-back candidate, who may want to sign a 1-yr deal to re-establish value.
This all assumes they will re-sign Tanaka to something like a 3yr, 45M deal with incentives.
Fair points Wiffleball…Paxton certainly has the higher ceiling but Happ definitely is less of an injury concern and a higher floor since…but I know Paxton is claiming he’s 100% now….probably best to go with the options you referenced and pass on both
I don’t think they’d bring him back at even just $1M total. As much as it was about saving money on the $17M guarantee for the option, it’s more about freeing up the roster spot to plug in a better pitcher- someone who fits in better in NY and would give them a better overall performance.
J.A. Happ largely suffered from having some really great games and then some really terrible games and often times the great games came early or mid season when it didn’t matter as much and the poor performances came just as consistently timed- giving up home runs in close and crucial contests.
He’s not a big game pitcher and they need a big game pitcher in his spot.
Well said….aside from durability, Happ is a victim of his fastball as his #1 pitch without secondary pitches that scare anyone….Yankees have too many cheaper, younger options albeit unproven but options none the less to consider bringing Happ back at all.
@TrillionaireTeamOperator
Actually in 2019 Happ suffered in the early (not the late) part of the season, up to August when his baby was born. After that he had a stellar final 6 weeks of the season with a sub-2.00 ERA. in 2018 he was also stellar for the Yanks, going 7-0 with a 2.69 ERA. And this season was decent, in August and September. His one bad section, and it was really bad, was from April through early August of 2019. I think he was about 150% distracted by his wife’s pregnancy and the upcoming birth of his child. It’s going to cost him $10MM or more this year and more into the future until he retires. I think he has more gas in the tank, though.
Very true Trillionare….he was definitely at both ends of the spectrum, bad or pretty good….his final season numbers scream consistent but he definitely was not
It’s very possible the Yankees deliberately didn’t start him to avoid the vesting option, but he was so bad in his first two starts it was hard to fault them for skipping him once or twice when each loss loomed so large in this short season.
Once he turned it around, they kept starting him.
Wasn’t a true “skip” either. They had multiple series postponed due to COVID and both times it allowed them to reset the rotation and start Cole/Tanaka on normal rest instead
2020 was the wrong year to have a vesting option based on innings and/or starts…..while the Yankees made the decisions they had to as far as who they gave the ball to, Cover played as much a part in Happs frustration and lack of achievement.
Happ definitely didn’t perform up to expectations, but he finished 2020 very strong.
He could have ensured his option vested if he wasn’t among the worst starters in the league in 2019. He also started the year off slowly, making him the logical pitcher to skip early on when they had off days and were maximizing Cole’s starts. He wasn’t owed his $17M option for 2021 unless he stayed healthy and pitched well enough to hold down his rotation spot. He failed at being good in 2019 and early 2020. So he was frustrated at being skipped, but he always controlled his own future until he failed at being good.
Fortunately for him is he heads off to free agency rebounding down the stretch. A veteran lefty will land somewhere. The strong finish will help, but that high strand rate is concerning. Not repeatable.
Will Happ file a Grievance?
How’s he going to prove a thing against the Yanks?
He might. I don’t see how he can win it.
For what exactly? All of his ERA estimators point to a mid-4 ERA pitcher. Nobody is going to pay more than $15 million in a season for that.
It isn’t about what teams will pay…it is about if he can PROVE they deliberately skipped him in the rotation to keep him from reaching the amount of starts/innings needed for his option to vest.
Just like the Kris Bryant case.. It is almost impossible to prove “intent”
I didn’t know about that part, but he he would have to have some pretty damning evidence to file a case.
For missing his beating option by one start. He’d have to prove playing time was manipulated for that reason, though, which would be tough.
Vesting option. Thanks auto correct.
Yankees not picking up Happ’s option: Almost as shocking as cats and dogs not liking each other
You guys realize these contracts are pro rated as well right?! So if they play half of a season next year they pay Happ half of his guaranteed money.
This was a low ball move by the Yankees and I totally agree with Happ speaking out against it. I also agree with the Yanks. It’s a sheisty move but it’s the right move right now.
@coldbeer – Happ is now a free agent and can sign with any team for any amount and the Yankees do not owe him anything. The pro-rated portion was last year during the shortened season which was the second year of his two year contract.
J.A. Happ’s numbers looked fine overall, but if you examine them peripherally, he was inconsistent at best and did not live up to the contract in New York. I think, if he continues to play, he is best suited to a smaller market club with lower expectations.
He seemed to really crater in the crucial moments, despite his overall innings eater performance being okay.
I file him in the same group as Chase Headley- a strong mid season pick up to bolster the roster down the stretch, but a mistake to have extended once they hit Free Agency.
I’m glad the Yankees were able to shed his contract and walk away from him taking up a roster spot. I’m not against the guy, but he didn’t really fit in in NY and definitely needs a change of scenery and the Yankees could use the saved $17M to sign a younger, sharper pitcher to take his spot.
What’s he bitching about. The way he performed in New York. The Yankees are the one who should file a grievance
This!
Happ was actually really good this year but for 17 mill? No he’s worth about 8-12 for the numbers he put up.
Don’t think we’re going to see many “I can’t believe this” kinda takes about this one.
He was not good.
It was a bad signing.
Plus his complaining didn’t endear him to me. Want your option to vest, JA? Well, pitch better, lad.
Glad he’s gone.
He was never worth $17 mil a year. He pitched like J A Happ. They got exactly what to expect, if you look at his career numbers.
I think that’s why it was $17M per season. He’s an $11M a year pitcher- was before he signed with the Yankees, is today. But, because he wasn’t gonna sign for less than a bump over his previous contract (3 years/$33M) and they weren’t comfortable giving him a third guaranteed year, they came to the compromise of greatly over paying him for two seasons and the ability to walk away before that third season would’ve kicked in. The contract language definitely gave the Yankees the deciding edge and gave him the hope of a third season of guaranteed work plus the guaranteed income a more appropriately priced 3 season guarantee would’ve offered him.
Given 2020 and Covid, there is no way Happ is an $11 Million dollar pitcher in the 2021 market……you may be right about entering the 2020 year as compared to the $17 Million he got but durability aside, he’s a 38 year old, who basically is a 1 pitch pitcher…….teams are going to go younger and cheaper given overall revenue losses and roll the dice……
Yes & no?
If you will?
Happ remade himself when he went to Toronto. He became really effective pitching up in the zone.
But, Mr Axisa – of RAB – noted how the velocity & spin rate on his fastball was declining since his best seasons with the Jays.
Despite those (seemingly) obvious red flags the Yanks wasted a whole bunch of money on him. His velo & spin continued to plummet. Therefore, he was no longer effective up in the zone.
He pretty much became B.P. Happ when that occurred.
Lousy signing. Could easily have been avoided.
I remember Mike’s concerns as an RAB reader and poster. (BTW If you haven’t, you really should sign up for Mike’s Patreon RAB blog; totally worth $3 a month.). Thing is, the Yankees know all those metrics, but they still signed him. Not sure why. They must have believed he had something else to overcome the decreased velocity and spin. The biggest issue is they could have had Corbin for I think about $6M more in AAV. Bad decision.
That’s what the Yankees will do to you. They’ll squeeze the life out of you and then throw you to the curve when you’re not useful to them.
What? They overpaid him lots for two years. He should be thankful.
He had a very good short season other than the very start and evidently his game against Tampa. It’s time to let the old arm go and see what else is there.
Anthony, is there a possible grievance here? I kind of doubt they instructed Boone to yank him from games early to take down his IP, but maybe the 10th start. From late August, he was pitching every fifth day, 5/6 games with pitch counts of 90 or higher. 36IP in those 6 games…I’m not sure he could have thrown more,
When he pitched, you either got J.A. Happ or J.A. Hapless. There were very few average starts: he either pitched really well or he got shelled. Way too much money for such unpredictable results. This option decline has zero to do with Covid or 2020 revenue losses; it’s just good baseball sense, especially with no buyout on the option. Re-up Tanaka and also sign a lower tiered starter as well like Walker, or take a chance on a bounce back season from Kluber.
I agree with every sentence.
Agreed, Dorothy Mantooth. You are a saint and a scholar.
Love that Happ or Hapless..!
That being said, come home to Philly for one year JA
Not surprising, Happ won’t get that kind of money on market. I could see a 1-2 year deal at 10MM. Hoping the Yankees design Tanaka and add a bounce back candidate like Kluber in the offseason.
Yankees are finished. Carrying coles massive albatross through his age 39 season coupled with injury prone stanton Albatross. (who wont opt out) Severinos injury plus contract and looming contracts in judge, torres (if he returns to form) and djs free Agency.
So many holes to fill in roster with tanaka, happ likely gone. If they sign judge long term and resign dj they go way over the cap and have no funds to sign anyone to add the Rotation. Tampa is only going to get better boasting one of the best farms in the league, blue jay are right there as well.
Even the Yankees understand you don’t pay that kind of money to a 38 year old soft tossing pitcher unless he’s lights out. It’s funny some people wanted him back at that price.
How many times have we seen a ballplayer step it up during an option or free agent year. I like Happ but when he has his contract he gets too cozy and not produce.. Good luck wherever he lands.
I’m glad that the Yankees aren’t overpaying for a pitcher who gave me too much agita with his inconsistency. That said, I have to comment on this:
“A few more batted balls finding grass and less timely sequencing would have pushed that ERA closer to his 4.57 fielding independent pitching mark.”
That highlights what’s wrong with assigning too much value to a fielding-independent metric in isolation from other measures. Happ had the lowest K/9 and one of the highest GB/FB rates of all the Yankee starters. Only Schmidt, Garcia and Loaisiga had a higher Contact %. Happ depended on his fielders for outs; so, in his case, ERA is a more reasonable measure of his effectiveness than FIP or xFIP.
And I’m still glad they’re not overpaying to keep him.
Between Happ, Tanaka and Paxton the Yankees had 52.5 million come off the books. None of the 3 of those guys warrant those contracts. Tanaka was a battler but his stuff has not been the same since the ball changed. Paxton is too injury prone and Happ doesn’t have the ability to step up in the biggest situations. In this depressed market, they will likely get an ace pitcher for a fraction of the cost.