Should the Twins Cut Happ?

[Cap'n Piranha]

On 9/3/2021 at 3:51 AM, yeahyabetcha said:

He still managed to produce at least 10 good to quality starts.  Is that horrible for someone who was brought in to be 4/5 starter?

I thought Happ was a perfectly acceptable signing for this Twins team (lots of young pitching, none of which was ready to contribute at the MLB level; not a ton of money left to spend).  He fell apart pretty early in the season, which was always a possibility.  My characterization of him as old with next-to-nothing in the tank was based on the reality of what has happened to him this year.  This offseason, Happ will be lucky to get a Shoemaker deal--in all likelihood he will either take a MiLB deal with a spring training invite, or he'll retire.  Goes to show how fast the aging process can be once it begins.

[Dodecahedron]

15 hours ago, Cap'n Piranha said:

I thought Happ was a perfectly acceptable signing for this Twins team (lots of young pitching, none of which was ready to contribute at the MLB level; not a ton of money left to spend).  He fell apart pretty early in the season, which was always a possibility.  My characterization of him as old with next-to-nothing in the tank was based on the reality of what has happened to him this year.  

I had the same thoughts at the time.  I knew he was a risk, but I had faith he would perform near the median.  Of course, these thoughts were in the minority from what I remember. 

As to why the Cardinals traded for him, that's one hell of a mystery.  The Cardinals are not a playoff team.  Gant was working out for them and he is cheap.  Like with the Cruz trade, I'm assuming the Twins cashed in some favors.

[Twodogs]

The sad thing is that he has actually done ok in St Louis.  7 starts, 3 - 2, 4.7 era, 1.3 whip.  Had he averaged those numbers for the Twins they probably would have considered him a success.  Instead he pitched to the tune of a 6.7 era.