J.A. Happ

Injury Notes: Happ, Hill, Flowers, Segura, Cishek

By charliewilmoth | April 16, 2017 at 7:10pm CDT

A day after placing Aaron Sanchez on the DL, the Blue Jays might have lost another starting pitcher today — J.A. Happ will have an MRI after leaving today’s game with elbow trouble, as Sportsnet’s Arden Zwelling and other reporters have noted. “I felt kind of a pull, a tug in my elbow,” says Happ. “And then I went back out there for the fifth and it just got progressively worse.” A significant injury to Happ would be yet another blow to a Blue Jays team that is already off to 2-10 start that had already led to whispers that the team could be sellers on the trade market this summer. Here are more notes on injuries.

Dodgers lefty Rich Hill’s second start of the season ended just as his first one did — with an early departure due to blister trouble, as Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times notes. Shaikin further adds in a tweet that the Dodgers will decide tomorrow whether Hill will require another DL stay. The team could even consider moving him to the bullpen, manager Dave Roberts tells reporters, including MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick (link to Twitter). Presumably, pitching shorter outings could prevent blister flareups. Hill pitched just three innings in the Dodgers’ 3-1 loss to the Diamondbacks. “We’ve talked to a lot of different people that have issues with that outside of our game, and we just can’t pinpoint it,” Roberts said before the game of Hill’s blister issues. “We’re going to continue to try. We don’t have an answer.”
Braves catcher Tyler Flowers is day-to-day with a strained hamstring he noticed during Sunday’s game, as MLB.com’s Mark Bowman notes. “We’re going to re-evaluate him tomorrow and see where we’re at. Hopefully it’s nothing real serious, because he’s swinging that bat real well,” says Braves manager Brian Snitker. The Braves will wait to decide whether to place Flowers on the DL. In Flowers is out for awhile, Kurt Suzuki will start and Anthony Recker will back him up. Both are already on the Braves’ active roster.
Mariners infielder Jean Segura and reliever Steve Cishek are close to returning from injury, writes MLB.com’s Greg Johns. Segura has been doing some supervised running to test his ailing hamstring, and hopes to return on Friday, when is when he’s first eligible to come back after going on the DL last Tuesday. Cishek, meanwhile, is beginning a rehab assignment with Double-A Arkansas. Cishek is still making his way back after having microfracture hip surgery last October.

AL Notes: Blue Jays, Yankees, A’s, Red Sox

By Connor Byrne | April 16, 2017 at 12:19pm CDT

With Toronto off to a 2-9 start, executives from rival teams are already wondering which players the Blue Jays might shop in the coming months if they don’t turn their season around, according to Buster Olney of ESPN.com. Olney lists several possibilities, the most prominent being onetime MVP-winning third baseman Josh Donaldson, who’s currently on the disabled list with a calf injury. Three members of the Jays’ rotation – J.A. Happ, Marco Estrada and Francisco Liriano – as well as right fielder Jose Bautista and shortstop Troy Tulowitzki are also candidates to end up on the move, per Olney.

Pirates News & Rumors: Happ, Huntington, McCutchen

By Mark Polishuk | August 7, 2016 at 10:22pm CDT

Here’s the latest from the Steel City…

While J.A. Happ is enjoying a strong season with the Blue Jays, Pirates GM Neal Huntington (via Stephen J. Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) didn’t express too much regret over not re-signing the southpaw after his turnaround performance in Pittsburgh. “We wanted to re-sign J.A. We weren’t able to meet the financial asks, or chose not to. Toronto was aggressive and came and got him,” Huntington said. While noting that “hindsight always gives you the opportunity to wish you had done something differently,” Huntington also mentioned that Happ is still not even a full season through the first year of the three-year deal, so it could be too early to judge the signing.
Huntington also told reporters (including MLB.com’s Adam Berry) that the Pirates are actively scouring the waiver wire for possible additions, though he cited the inherent difficulties of landing players through the unpredictable August waivers process. Some of the salary saved in the Francisco Liriano trade could help the Bucs make claims on pricier players, Huntington said, whether it’s to actually obtain the players themselves or simply block them from going to rival teams.
If the Pirates were willing to sell low on Liriano just to get his contract off the books, Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review wonder if the club would consider the same with Andrew McCutchen this winter. The former NL MVP is owed $14MM in 2017, and the Bucs have a $14.5MM club option ($1MM buyout) on his services for 2018. McCutchen’s contract has long considered one of the game’s most team-friendly deals given how the outfielder emerged as a superstar after signing the extension, so while it seems wild to now consider it a financial burden, McCutchen is suffering through the worst season of his career, hitting just .241/.314/.404 with 15 homers through 443 PA. Despite these struggles, you would figure that the modest contractual commitment, McCutchen’s relative youth (he’s 29) and excellent track record would still figure to make him a sought-after trade chip if Pittsburgh indeed made him available. Highly-touted prospect Austin Meadows is also waiting in the wings for the Pirates as a possible outfield replacement.

AL East Notes: Hanley, Madson, Happ, Rays

By Mark Polishuk | November 29, 2015 at 8:49pm CDT

Hanley Ramirez “is going to be our first baseman,” a high-ranking Red Sox source tells WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford. The club is committed to using Ramirez at first in 2016 and the Sox have mapped out a rough 140-game schedule for Ramirez at the position. The Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo reported earlier today that the Red Sox were shopping Ramirez. While this statement from Bradford’s source won’t end that speculation, it only makes sense that the club is preparing as if Ramirez will be on the roster rather than assuming a trade partner will be found. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski also said the Sox were intent on using Ramirez at first during his season-end media conference, for what it’s worth.

Here’s more from around the AL East…

The Red Sox will likely need to make a decision about whether to keep or trade Ramirez before the Winter Meetings if they want a shot at signing Chris Davis, Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald writes. Davis could well agree to a deal at the Meetings, leaving Boston looking for lower-tier first basemen as platoon options to share time with Travis Shaw and utilityman Brock Holt. Signing Davis before trading Ramirez, of course, isn’t feasible since it would leave the Sox with zero negotiating position in trade talks.
The Blue Jays are looking at relievers with closing experience, ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick reports (Twitter link), and Ryan Madson is one of the names under consideration. Madson had a tremendous year as the Phillies’ closer in 2011 but then missed the next three seasons with injuries before reviving his career in the Royals’ bullpen in 2015. In looking for former closers, it stands to reason that the Jays are still considering stretching out current ninth-inning man Roberto Osuna as a starter. The Tigers and Dodgers have also been rumored to be interested in Madson this offseason.
J.A. Happ discussed signing with the Blue Jays in an interview on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (audio link), saying that multiple teams showed interest but “Toronto was really aggressive” in making a deal happen. Happ was also swayed by his past stint in Toronto, his good relationships with John Gibbons and pitching coach Pete Walker, and the fact that the Jays look to be contenders again next year. The southpaw said the Pirates, his former club, were one of the clubs with interest but talks “never quite got there” (hat tip to Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review).
The Rays seem to overhaul their bullpen every winter but their 2016 relief corps appears to be mostly set, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes. Brad Boxberger, Jake McGee, Steve Geltz and three out-of-options arms in Enny Romero, Xavier Cedeno and Alex Colome seem to be the top six, with Andrew Bellatti and newcomer Danny Farquhar also on hand and probably a couple of veterans on minor league deals to eventually be signed for additional depth. Of course, Topkin notes that this stable bullpen plan could be greatly shuffled if the strong interest in Boxberger and McGee actually induces the Rays to part with one in a trade.
In other AL East notes from earlier today, the Blue Jays’ GM search is down to two known finalists, the Orioles have some interest in Denard Span and MLBTR’s Zach Links compiled another set of division notes.

Blue Jays Notes: Rotation, Bullpen, Price

By | November 28, 2015 at 7:01pm CDT

The Blue Jays have committed about $130MM to their 2016 roster, writes Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca. The club has signed three mid-rotation starters to go with three already signed options. GM Tony LaCava will continue to search for pitching, both starters and relievers. Per LaCava, “we do think the offence is one of the best in the game, so we’re not really interested in looking too much at improving that.” Toronto led baseball with 891 runs scored – 127 more runs than the second place Yankees. And the lineup as currently constructed is arguably stronger than before.

Here’s more from north of the border:

The recent additions of Marco Estrada, Jesse Chavez, and J.A. Happ ensure the Blue Jays can avoid spending for elite pitchers like David Price and Zack Greinke, per Nicholson-Smith. Last winter, the Royals replaced staff ace James Shields with Chris Young, Edinson Volquez, and Kris Medlen. They also inked unappreciated bullpen stalwarts Ryan Madson and Franklin Morales. Toronto now needs to find some bullpen reinforcements, especially since they dealt away one of their best relievers, Liam Hendriks, to acquire Chavez.
Re-signing Price “was always a pipe dream,” writes John Lott of the National Post. Lott notes that many in the fanbase are frustrated with the acquisition of innings-eaters over an ace, but former GM Alex Anthopoulos wouldn’t have found money for Price either. Their three new starters combined for 85 starts last season, a volume that will help the offense continue to carry the team.

Orioles Notes: Davis, Pitching, Morneau, Hardy

By | November 28, 2015 at 5:58pm CDT

The Orioles were right to extend Matt Wieters a qualifying offer even though the plan backfired, writes Rich Dubroff of CSNmidatlantic.com. Dubroff’s wish list for the club includes first baseman Chris Davis, a starting pitcher, and a quality outfielder. He doesn’t expect the club’s payroll to exceed $130MM to $140MM. With about $100MM committed to their current roster, the club has just enough money to pay Davis and one other substantial piece.

The three-year, $36MM contract signed by J.A. Happ serves to set the market floor for mid-tier starting pitchers, per Dubroff. Possible Orioles targets like Yovani Gallardo, Scott Kazmir, John Lackey, and Jeff Samardzija can expect to earn more than Happ. If the club retains the space to re-sign Davis, then they’re out on any of the top market starting pitchers.
Dubroff also looks at first basemen past Davis. Several like Chris Parmelee, Kelly Johnson, Travis Ishikawa, Mark Reynolds, and Steve Pearce have already appeared with the Orioles. None would represent a fan-inspiring signing. Should the club fall short on Davis, Dubroff suggests a one-year flyer on Justin Morneau as one alternative.
While Baltimore may look to free agency for additions, current players need to step up their game too, writes Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com. In particular, J.J. Hardy, Chris Tillman, and Miguel Gonzalez are listed as three players in need of a rebound. Injuries have ruined Hardy’s last two seasons, especially at the plate. Tillman, once a promising pitching prospect, is coming off his worst season since 2011. Gonzalez is entering his age 32 season after posting career worst numbers across the board.

AL East Notes: Price, Happ, Davis, Maeda

By charliewilmoth | November 28, 2015 at 9:55am CDT

The Blue Jays’ signing of lefty J.A. Happ strongly suggests that David Price won’t be returning to Toronto next year, Jon Morosi of FOX Sports writes. Price’s acquisition was emblematic of the go-for-broke approach former GM Alex Anthopoulos took, and it isn’t like new team president Mark Shapiro to make similarly dramatic, risky moves. Instead, Shapiro and interim GM Tony LaCava have addressed the Jays’ rotation needs more quietly, with the signing of Happ, the re-signing of Marco Estrada and their trade for Jesse Chavez. “We obviously had multiple holes to fill in our pitching staff, and our front-office team felt diversifying the risk among multiple pitchers who could start was important, both due to our need at the (big-league) level and our lack of Triple-A depth starting pitchers,” Shapiro says. Here’s more from the AL East.

Happ wasn’t the same pitcher he was in Pittsburgh as he had been previously, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca writes. He allowed fewer walks, his velocity increased, and he leaned harder on his fastball, leading to a brilliant 1.85 ERA in 11 starts. The Blue Jays, then, will have to see if the adjustments Happ made in Pittsburgh can continue to help him.
No one involved with sports negotiations likes the phrase “hometown discount,” but if Chris Davis is to return to the Orioles, he’ll have to give them that discount, Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun writes. The Orioles believe they can make Davis a competitive offer, just not one quite as large as he might be able to get elsewhere. They can hope that such a competitive offer might be enough to lure Davis, a beloved player in Baltimore and a good fit at Camden Yards, to return. Davis’ agent Scott Boras might have something to say about that, of course, but as Connolly notes, the choice will ultimately be Davis’.
Japanese righty Kenta Maeda could be one possibility for the Red Sox this offseason, Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald writes. Maeda recently asked his NPB team, the Hiroshima Carp, to post him. With the Tigers, new Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski wasn’t usually a top bidder for the best talents from abroad. The Sox, however, have signed top foreign players like Yoan Moncada, Rusney Castillo and Daisuke Matsuzaka, so perhaps they’ll be contenders for Maeda as well. Maeda could represent a lower-priced alternative to top free agents like Price and Zack Greinke.

Blue Jays Sign J.A. Happ

By Jeff Todd | November 27, 2015 at 11:55pm CDT

7:48pm: Happ will receive $10MM in 2016 and $13MM apiece for the next two years of the deal, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports on Twitter.

6:46pm: The Blue Jays have announced the signing of lefty J.A. Happ to a three-year, $36MM contract. Happ, 33, is represented by Dave Rogers.

With the signing, Toronto has brought back a pitcher who spent about two-and-a-half seasons with the club before he was traded away last winter. (That swap returned outfielder Michael Saunders.) During his first 291 frames with the Jays, from 2012 through 2014, Happ worked to a 4.39 ERA with 7.9 K/9 against 3.5 BB/9.

Things did not go terribly well for the veteran at the start of 2015. In his twenty-one outings with the Mariners, Happ posted a 4.64 ERA and carried a 6.8 strikeout-per-nine rate that fell below his career average.

But that all changed when the Pirates added Happ in one of the least-discussed moves of the trade deadline. In his final 63 1/3 innings of the season, the southpaw allowed just 13 earned runs, three home runs, and 13 walks while striking out 69 opposing hitters.

While the Blue Jays obviously won’t be expecting Happ to maintain a sub-2.00 ERA rate, it’s fair to wonder whether to what extent that mid-season turnaround will stick. Happ did not seem to benefit from a leap in velocity or major change in his offerings. Instead, the most obvious apparent differences before and after the trade were that he began relying much more heavily on his fastball, threw slightly more strikes, and lucked into somewhat more favorable matchups, as Jeff Sullivan of Fangraphs explained late in the season. Happ hasn’t had any significant arm issues since 2010, and has mostly been healthy except for freak injuries, but he has never thrown more innings than the 172 he totaled last year.

Happ joins Marco Estrada (re-signed before the qualifying offer decision deadline) and Jesse Chavez (acquired via trade) as key pitching additions. President Mark Shapiro, interim GM Tony LaCava, and their staff seem to have preferred shorter-term commitments to veteran arms. Toronto obviously chose its targets and moved swiftly, as those represent three of the most significant moves of the still-early offseason.

It remains to be seen precisely how the Jays staff will be put together. Marcus Stroman and R.A. Dickey seem locks, along with Estrada and now Happ. It certainly seemed that Chavez would also take a rotation spot, given that the club parted with a cheaper, more controllable reliever in Liam Hendriks to add him. Drew Hutchison remains an option despite a rough 2015, as do youngsters Roberto Osuna and Aaron Sanchez — both of whom were quality late-inning pen arms last year.

MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes predicted that Happ would land a three year deal, but saw him as more likely to land a $10MM annual guarantee. By signing early, though, Happ was able to maximize his price — aided, no doubt, by the fact that many other quality, mid-range starters came with lengthier contract requests and/or the need to sacrifice a draft pick.

Happ becomes the highest-rated player on that top fifty list (30th) to sign. It certainly bodes well for the rest of the pitching market that he was able to secure such a healthy deal. Hurlers such as Hisashi Iwakuma, John Lackey, Scott Kazmir, Ian Kennedy, and Yovani Gallardo will all surely point to that contract as a floor.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

AL East Notes: Price, Blue Jays, Masterson

By Jeff Todd | November 27, 2015 at 11:05pm CDT

The stars are aligning for the Red Sox to sign top free agent David Price, Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe writes. Price, he says, “is the guy they want,” with the club seemingly prepared to top $200MM to get a deal done. We’ve heard previously that rival executives expect Boston to top the market for Price. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski will be under pressure not only to get a deal done, says Abraham, but to do so before the organization begins hawking tickets on December 12th (just after the conclusion of the Winter Meetings).

Here’s more from the AL East:

The Blue Jays’ signing of J.A. Happ not only takes them out of the market for Price — as unlikely as that match was — but represents a departure for the club, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca writes. It had been nearly a decade since Toronto gave multiple years to a free agent starter, but under new club president Mark Shapiro the team has already committed both to Happ and Marco Estrada this winter. As Davidi notes, the two contracts are hardly monumental risks in the broader league-wide spending context.
While average annual values of over $10MM are now unsurprising even for back-of-the-rotation free agent arms, Davidi goes on to explain that those commitments still have a significant impact on the payroll. He estimates that the club is already looking at around $135MM in Opening Day payroll — assuming it tenders contracts to the team’s ten arbitration-eligible players. Toronto would likely not have much added space to work with, then, unless some trimming is performed.
Meanwhile, Shapiro and the Blue Jays have apparently begun interviewing candidates for the team’s full-time GM position. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports on Twitter that Royals assistant GM Rene Francisco has interviewed for the position, which is being filled by Tony LaCava on an interim basis.
Recent Red Sox righty Justin Masterson is expected to be at full strength this spring after his shoulder cleanup procedure, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports on Twitter. The 30-year-old has struggled badly over the last two years, but he’s had enough success previously that plenty of clubs will be glad to give him a chance at a resurrection.

NL Central Notes: Price, Ash, Sadler, Happ, Soria

By Steve Adams | November 6, 2015 at 8:20am CDT

The free-agent signing period has yet to even officially kick off — that will happen after midnight ET tonight, when the five-day, exclusive negotiation window between free agents and their current teams expires — but there are already plenty of rumblings connecting David Price to the Cubs. Earlier in the week, ESPN’s Buster Olney wrote (Insider subscription required) that “some rival evaluators consider the Cubs to be the heavy, heavy favorites” to land Price. And, earlier today, FOX’s Ken Rosenthal noted that he spoke to a pair of agents that represent some of Price’s competitors on this year’s free agent market, both of whom expect him to land with the Cubs. Rosenthal also spoke to an exec who knows Price and believes the Cubs to be the lefty’s top choice. All of this, of course, is highly preliminary in nature. It’s difficult to peg the Cubs as any kind of favorite when the team cannot yet negotiate with his agent, Bo McKinnis, in earnest and when the rest of the league hasn’t been granted a chance to persuade Price, either.

Here’s more from the NL Central…

Though he’ll have a new title and role, longtime Milwaukee exec Gord Ash will remain with the Brewers, GM David Stearns told reporters, including MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy. Ash had been the club’s assistant general manager since 2002 but will now work in an advisory/pro scouting role with the team instead. Stearns added that the club’s search for a new farm director is ongoing, adding that the search has been narrowed considerably since it began.
Pirates GM Neal Huntington revealed to reporters, including Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, that right-hander Casey Sadler underwent Tommy John surgery in October and will miss all of the 2016 season. Sadler made just one big league start for the Pirates in 2015 though he chipped in 10 1/3 innings in 2014 as well. The 25-year-old sinker-baller’s injury does deplete the Pirates’ rotation depth, however. The Pirates will be without Brandon Cumpton in 2016 due to shoulder surgery, Brink notes, and Nick Kingham remains on the shelf after undergoing TJ surgery himself in May. Sadler has a 3.53 ERA in 211 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level.
Brink spoke to Huntington for a second column, and the GM tells him that the Pirates have expressed interest in re-signing left-hander J.A. Happ. “We’ve had discussions about his interest in coming back,” said Huntington. “We’ve expressed to him that we have interest in having him come back.” Happ enjoyed the best stretch of his career following a last-minute trade from Seattle to Pittsburgh before the non-waiver deadline, logging a 1.85 ERA with career-best 9.8 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9 rates in 63 1/3 innings. Meanwhile, a source tells Brink that the Pirates have not had any discussions with the representative for their other late July acquisition: right-hander Joakim Soria. The former Royals/Rangers/Tigers closer figures to be one of the more attractive relief options on the open market this winter and could cost more than the Pirates care to pay.

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