Jays sign Happ to three-year deal

Starting pitcher J.A. Happ has signed a three-year, $36 million deal with the Toronto Blue Jays, the club announced Friday evening.

Happ, 33, was with the Blue Jays for parts of three seasons from 2012-2014. He was 19-20 with a 4.39 ERA (90 ERA+) in his time there. He was traded to Seattle last offseason and then dealt to the Pirates, where he thrived.

In his time with Pittsburgh, Happ was 7-2 with a 1.85 ERA and 1.03 WHIP in 11 starts. He struck out 69 in 63 1/3 innings. Interestingly, pretty much all of Happ’s best work as a starter has come in the National League.

Signing him to a three-year deal worth $12 million per year suggests the Jays are expecting him to remain in the rotation long-term.

With this addition, the Jays have more than enough in-house to fill out their rotation. It looks as follows:

1. Marcus Stroman
2. Marco Estrada
3. R.A. Dickey
4. J.A. Happ
5. Jesse Chavez/Drew Hutchison

There’s also the option of moving youngster Aaron Sanchez into the rotation.

The topic on everyone’s mind is surely David Price. If the Jays feel it is possible to bring him back, signing Happ and trading for Chavez wouldn’t necessarily eliminate them from contention for the free-agent ace. Several reports have indicated the Jays wouldn’t be willing to pay huge money to retain Price, however, and it does appear the Jays are filling out a rotation without him. If we do throw Sanchez in the mix, they already have seven viable candidates for the five rotation spots.

Basically, this move doesn’t mean the Blue Jays are 100 percent out on Price, but all the moves in totality thus far in the offseason logically point to them being ready to move on.

J.A. Happ is returning to Toronto. (USATSI)

This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service – if this is your content and you’re reading it on someone else’s site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php#publishers.