Toronto Blue Jays – J.A. Happ, Starting Pitcher
There’s a pretty strong argument that this should be the lefty the Yankees focus their energies on instead of Hamels. J.A. Happ will be a free agent after this season and the Blue Jays will almost certainly trade him before the deadline to get what they can out of him. They’re not in any position to contend and may not be for the foreseeable future, so helping a division rival for a few months doesn’t seem that out of the question.
While the ERA looks high, Happ has gotten blitzed his past two starts and that just seems to be a blip on the radar. Maybe he’s reading the press clippings and knows that he’s about to be traded and the mental focus isn’t quite there. Regardless, he’s made 16 other starts and only four times has he given up more than three earned runs. This wouldn’t be the first time Happ has gotten dealt in the middle of the season either. He was traded from the Seattle Mariners to the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 2015 season and he did very well with his new team.
He made 11 starts with the Buccos and pitched to a 2.19 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP while striking out 9.8 batters per nine innings. He was nothing short of dominant and if the Yankees could get even the majority of that production this year, they would be ecstatic. Happ will be popular over the next few weeks and the Yankees should be highly motivated to bring him in for the stretch run.