Blue Jays: Bottom Four Trades under GM Ross Atkins

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TORONTO, ON – JULY 7: J.A. Happ #33 of the Toronto Blue Jays exits the game as he is relieved in the third inning during MLB game action against the New York Yankees at Rogers Centre on July 7, 2018 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images) /

Not much in return from the Yankees

(2) J.A. Happ for Billy McKinney and Brandon Drury (NYY) – July 26th, 2018

Many Jays fans forget how good J.A. Happ was between 2016 and 2018. In those three seasons, he produced an ERA of 3.44 with a blistering hot record of 47-21 in 88 starts. When he took the mound, it always felt like he was going to pitch deep into the game and give his team a chance to win.

I get that he was traded for only a half season of control, but in the past the price has always been high for quality starters at the trade deadline, and it felt like the Jays rushed to unload him. Given the fact that he signed a 3-year, 51m contract in the succeeding offseason, the Jays would have been far better off offering him a qualifying offer for 17m and letting him walk for a first round draft pick.

Instead, they got mediocre Brandon Drury and a prospect in Billy McKinney. The stinger for Jays fans is that the front office should’ve known what they had in Drury and McKinney. Drury had produced a below average 95 OPS+ with decent defence in his first three big league seasons, while McKinney had posted a modest OPS of under .770 in over 2000 minor league PA. In my opinion, the Jays should have held onto Happ and offered him a QO that he’d probably decline, thus giving the Jays a draft pick from whomever signed him. Given the fact that Drury and McKinney have both moved on from the Jays organization, it is likely that they would have gotten much more value in a draft pick.

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