Rangers: 3 free agents to sign and 1 to avoid this offseason

J.A. Happ, SP, New York Yankees

Haven’t the Rangers learned from their Corey Kluber error last year? Texas acquired him last year in a trade with the Cleveland Indians with the hopes of building a dominant start duo with Lance Lynn. That failed to materialize, as Kluber suffered a teres major muscle tear after one inning of work, and was ruled out for the remainder of the truncated season.

The Rangers, obviously continuing to build some depth behind Lynn, have reportedly expressed interest in an aging pitcher. That arm is none other than former New York Yankees starter J.A. Happ, per Jon Morosi of MLB.com. That’s not the greatest idea for Happ.

When looking at Happ’s statistics, you’d think he was a solid option for the Yankees’ rotation behind ace Gerrit Cole. He did manage to post a 3.47 ERA and 1.05 WHIP over 49.1 innings of work, but he accumulated a 2-2 record on the season. Additionally, he was vocal with his displeasure on his role with the team, specifically when it came to his $17 million vesting option in 2021 that he didn’t meet.

But the biggest detriment of signing Happ is his struggles in the postseason. That was evident in his lone appearance with the Yankees this year. During the ALDS, manager Aaron Boone pulled rookie Deivi Garcia after a strong first inning of work and called upon Happ, in hopes of “fooling” the Tampa Bay Rays and Kevin Cash. As it turns out, Boone was fooled, because Happ surrendered four earned runs on five hits in 2.2 innings of work. Granted, Happ wasn’t entirely thrilled about being used in that situation, but it’s hard to gloss over his career 5.86 postseason ERA. Yikes.

Happ could be a relatively cheap option, but he’s going to be 38-years-old entering the 2021 season. Rangers, please look elsewhere.