Blue Jays rumours: Why the Interest in J.A. Happ?

If the Blue Jays were to sign J.A. Happ, it would be his third stint in Toronto.

The Toronto Blue Jays are looking for ways to fill out their rotation. They already have Hyun Jin Ryu, Nate Pearson, Robbie Ray and Tanner Roark locked into the rotation to at least start off the season, but the front office is still looking to add pitching to the roster.

There are many free agent starting pitchers that they can pursue, including some of their own from last season in Matt Shoemaker and Taijuan Walker. They could also opt for a new name though or even someone who’s already familiar with the organization. If they go with the latter, they may look to sign J.A. Happ who they’ve already been linked to.

Happ has had two previous stints with the Blue Jays. His first one lasted from in season 2012-2014. Over that span, he went 19-20 with a 4.39 ERA over 291 innings pitched. His second stint in Toronto was from 2016 until mid season 2018 where he did much better in a Blue Jays uniform in his second go around. In 2016, he went 20-4 with a 3.18 ERA over 195 frames.

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2017 saw him go 10-11 with an ERA of 3.53 over 145.1 innings. In 20 starts with the Jays in 2018, he was 10-6 with a 4.18 ERA and 130 strikeouts over 99 hits in 114 innings pitched. He was the Blue Jays All-Star representative at the 2018 mid summer classic.

Overall in his second stint, he combined for a record of 40-21 and a 3.55 ERA. He was then traded to the New York Yankees in exchange for Brandon Drury and Billy McKinney. Happ did more for the Yankees in the second half of the 2018 season than what Drury and McKinney did in their whole Jays tenure, at least thus far.

As he was a free agent at the conclusion of 2018, he re-signed with the Yankees on a two-year deal with a vesting option for the 2021 season which since he became an unrestricted free agent, ultimately wasn’t picked up. In 2019 and 2020 combined with the Yankees, he went 14-10 with a 4.57 ERA over 210.2 innings pitched, struck out 182 batters over 197 hits given up. In that span, he also gave up 42 home runs and 64 free passes.

The most obvious reason why the Jays are interested in Happ is because of his previous success with the organization. The front office could believe that if they can bring Happ back, they can help him get back to his previous form.

As Happ will be 38 for the 2021 season, bringing him in on a one year deal in hopes that he regains his form could be in the cards.