Report: Twins To Sign LHP J.A. Happ
Jan 20 2021 04:09 PM |
Seth Stohs
in Minnesota Twins
Image courtesy of Brad Penner, USA Today
On Wednesday afternoon, the Twins were back in the news, making a second major-league move. The team added a veteran with a lot of experience and a lot of success. Happ turned 38-years-old in October. 2021 will be his 15th season in the big leagues. In 2020, he went 2-2 with a 3.47 ERA in nine starts for the Yankees. In 49 1/3 innings, he walked 15 and struck out 42 batters. He has had an ERA under 4 in five of the past six seasons.
According to Jon Heyman, the one year deal will be worth $8 million.
The deal leaves the Twins with a rotation consisting of:
Kenta Maeda
Jose Berrios
Michael Pineda
J.A. Happ
Randy Dobnak
Devin Smeltzer and Lewis Thorpe are still in the picture, and Jordan Balazovic, Jhoan Duran and maybe Dakota Chalmers also could see time in 2021.
This shouldn’t come as too big a surprise, as the Twins were interested in Happ the last time he was a free agent. Twins Daily’s Tom Froemming uncovered this interesting bit of information regarding Happ last week:
That information is available on Happ’s Baseball Savant page. Happ ranked third in the league in HR-xHR with 2.9 in 2020 and was second in that stat at 9.3 in 2019. He’ll surely embrace a change of scenery.
Last season, Happ threw his 91 mph fastball 66% of the time, his slider 19% of the time and his changeup 14% of the time. He’ll also mix in a curveball sparingly. Information below also via Baseball Savant.
The $8 million deal matches what Toronto signed Robbie Ray for earlier this offseason. MLB Trade Rumors had Happ as their 41st ranked free agent and predicted he'd get a one-year, $6 million deal. FanGraphs had him ranked 45th and their Craig Edwards predicted he'd get this exact deal.
Happ had a $17 million option that would have been triggered had he made 10 starts or pitched 61 1/3 innings last season. The Yankees made sure he only made nine starts, and Happ wasn't too pleased about it.
(Tom Froemming contributed to this article as well)
SEE ALSO
Where Can the Twins Add the Most Value?
Why Didi Gregorius is the Best Shortstop Fit for the Twins
The 10 Best Twins Targets Among Remaining Free Agents
Free Agent Faceoff: Kiké Hernández vs. Tommy La Stella
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100 Comments
It's Happ-ening.
Happ-y days are here again.
This is pretty similar to the Homer Bailey signing, just a guy to fill the #5 spot in the rotation. He won't move the needle much. Here's hoping for a Sonny Gray / Luis Castillo trade, or something in that vein.
Was hoping a rookie would take the number 5 spot, or a series of rookies until one stuck......
I was hoping more for a Paxton signing (at least we have a LHP in the rotation).
If they had to pay Happ at 38 yrs old $8 million what is Paxton worth/asking for ?
I know we're all hoping for something BIG but this is about what the Twins ALWAYS do
With the exception of Donaldson.
I think this is a solid depth signing. He wasn't bad for the Yankees last year and isn't far removed from being really good. but we'll see how much he has left in the tank. I thinkyou always need depth in starting pitching, and this helps. price seems about right?
They get me almost every year.Someday though, someday I'll learn.
And also ...
$8 mil for a 38 year old Happ?
it's strange to me that $8 million for one year of a left-handed starting pitcher who has had a sub-4 ERA in 5 of the last 6 seasons is an 'overpay', but so many people want to pay Nelson Cruz whatever he wants...
I like this signing. He's probably the Twins #3. He could be their top guy. Yes, he's 38, but he's not reliant on velocity. If he stays healthy, which he has, I think this is a really solid signing for the Twins.
If that's the case, they shouldn't even bother playing the season.
I don't get being upset about it. At worst it's meh. He's basically Rich Hill without the post-season pedigree but far more reliable in the regular season.
Good move as if the twins are out of the playoff hunt Happ can be traded for assets.
The salary isn't excessive - in a vacuum. My concern is that the Twins are financially limited and shouldn't be committing so much money to a 'depth' signing.
This would seem to preclude the Twins from really improving this off-season - they have money remaining to sign Cruz OR one of the shortstops, but probably not both.
I'm not going to declare the off-season a failure because maybe they will spend more than expected, or maybe they will pull of a significant trade or two. But after having been unconcerned as of last week, I'm now pretty worried.
Not excited by this signing, but two things I see going for it:
1. I had a vague impression of Happ as an older player at the end of the line, but some of the pitch data in this article above and this evaluation by Gleeman make me think there's more there
2. Last offseason, the Twins acquired more starting pitching than it looked like they needed. Some of those acquisitions were meant to raise the ceiling of the rotation and some were aimed more to raise the floor and to make sure there was depth on hand. I wouldn't be surprised if this was the latter kind of move, one that ensures another rotation spot is covered even if they don't get anyone else, but doesn't preclude a bigger addition.
I like the move even more if Happ is part 1 of 2 parts and someone else is being brought on board.
Solid enough signing - a LH starter with a solid MLB resume. I am good with it. However, if this is the Twins' only SP move then the FO must really have confidence that one or more of Dobnak, Smeltzer, Duran or other youngster can produce. Not sure a team with world series aspirations would trust largely unproven SP to be central to the plan.
Bummer. Another almost 40 year old starter to not be excited about. And they will pay him almost 2 million more than Berrios. Must make Berrios feel real valuable.
There's the big move! Amazing job, FO
Solid fairly cheap signing for a 5th starter hopefully. Key is a 1 year deal that allows us to move on if our young studs are ready.... Get it we all want big names but this is decent for a 5th starter...
Makes me think of 2 things, Twins trying to get one more year out of aging arm or maybe Twins are bullish on their young pitchers, want another year of development.
I think it is more prudent to spend money on Happ than Marwin Gonzales. They are only going to spend so much...
Left handers seem to have some struggles with pitching for the Yankees. For 1 year Paxton would be a better idea. I do believe that Boras is Paxton's agent. Better ideas do not happen very often to his clients. Often times it is a bad idea contract. 4 years of a contract that a healthy Paxton would be worth would be the goal for the agent. That is a bad idea for any team.