2015 Trade Deadline: Is J.A. Happ Worth Owning?

The Mariners remained in sell mode right up until the deadline, dealing left handed pitcher J.A. Happ to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Happ was 4-6 with a 4.64 ERA for the Mariners this season in 20 starts.

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The Pirates went looking for a stop-gap after A.J. Burnett was placed on the disabled list with a sore elbow earlier in the day. All the Pirates want from Happ is for him to eat some innings while Burnett is out. He could stick in the rotation if he pitches well in the at least three starts while Burnett is sidelined.

With Happ gone, Roenis Elias will likely get called back up to take his slot in the Seattle rotation. Elias was 4-6 with a 4.27 ERA in Seattle earlier this year filling in for Hisashi Iwakuma. Elias will be a good streaming option in favorable matchup for your fantasy teams.

Meanwhile, Happ likely won’t get much of a boost in value, even with the switch to the lighter hitting National League. He is leaving one of the best pitcher’s parks in the game in Safeco Field. Happ did spend the first six years of his career in the National League, sporting a 4.16 ERA in 90 starts. Happ is 0-3 with a 4.20 ERA in five starts at PNC Park in his career.

The move looks like this:

The deal does little for Happ’s fantasy value. He is still a decent streaming option in leagues of 12 or more, but likely will not warrant use in standard leagues.

Meanwhile, Adrian Sampson is heading home. He went to high school and college in the Seattle area, and could be up with the Mariners in September or a little before. Sampson was 8-8 with a 3.98 ERA at AAA Indianapolis. He could provide depth in the Seattle rotation if needed.

In another move, the Pirates picked up heavy hitting Mike Morse from the Dodgers. Morse was traded on Thursday to the Dodgers in the Mat Latos deal. Here is how that trade looks:

Mike Morse will give the Pirates some power off the bench, and another right handed bat if they want to stack the lineup against lefties. If you have a bench slot to burn in deeper leagues, Morse could be worth taking a shot on. He could provide some cheap power when he plays. He was hitting .213 with four homers in 12 RBI in an injury-riddled campaign for the Marlins. The Marlins were so unimpressed with him that they benched him in favor of rookie Justin Bour.

The Dodgers assigned Jose Tabata to AAA Oklahoma City. Tabata has great speed, but he has not shown the ability to get on base consistently. This is another piece that doesn’t really fit the Dodgers. All it did was allow the Pirates to shed his contract. Tabata would be worth stashing if he were to get some playing time for the Dodgers, but that is very unlikely at this point. The Dodgers are still loaded in the outfield.

Stay tuned to Fantasy CPR for the fantasy impact of all of the deadline deals!

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