Yankees: J.A. Happ proves worth in pinstripe debut

On Sunday, the Yankees played the rubber match of a three-game series against the Kansas City Royals and secured a 6-3 win through solid hitting and dominant pitching from the newly acquired J.A. Happ.

This was not just another one of the Yankees 67 wins this season. Well, it was, but it was somewhat more significant than some of the other victories.

It was also J.A. Happ’s Yankee debut. After being from the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for INF Brandon Drury and OF Billy McKinney, Happ was officially integrated into the starting rotation.

And the lanky lefty did not disappoint. Happ pitched six innings while allowing just one run and three hits, securing his 11th win of the season and first in pinstripes.

Though he struck out just two men through six innings, Happ showed he could pitch well without having to overpower the opposition.

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The Happ trade was a high risk, high reward deal in that it brought over a pitcher who is having, arguably the best season of his career; at age 35. That alone is somewhat concerning.

On top of that, Happ’s contract, or what’s left of it, is still a bit hefty. Happ will become a free agent at the season’s end, only after being paid $13 million for the season.

Of that $13 million, the Yankees are required to cover only $4.6 million. So the Yanks look to be getting somewhat of a steal, paying less than of his actual salary for around half the season plus whatever the playoffs have to offer.

But if you look a little deeper, with there being only 58 games left in the regular season for the Yankees, and Happ being apart of a five-man rotation (Luis Severino, Masahiro Tanaka, C.C. Sabathia, J.A. Happ and Sonny Gray), Happ should start 11 more times for the Bombers this regular season.

Eleven games for $4.6 million — that’s nearly half a million dollars per game. That’s a lot of money to pay for a guy who is by the books “past his prime,” yet pitching above his head.

Happ is not the Yanks’ knight in shining armor that will guarantee a World Series Championship. He is no Clayton Kershaw or Max Scherzer. His career ERA is 3.95, with 1294 strikeouts in 1467 innings pitched. Nothing superb here.

Yet Happ is just what the doctor ordered for the Evil Empire. With the circumstances at hand, he was the best the Yankees could obtain. Happ is not a top MLB arm but is paid more than many upper echelon MLB arms. So why’d the Yanks settle?

Well, because they left themselves with an escape; Happ’s contract. Since his contract ends after this season, the Yankees will be free of the aging and expensive arm that is J.A. Happ.

The Yankees made a great deal to acquire a second, solid left-handed pitcher for the rotation near the trade deadline. But again, high risk high, high reward. Happ has had a handful of very poorly pitched outings. Seven of Happ’s starts this season resulted in 4+ earned runs, and against opponents of all abilities.

https://twitter.com/Yankees/status/1023926750588362753

Happ is not perfect. Far from it. But he is just enough to push the Yankees over the hump. He is the added arm, to aid a Yankee weakness, that we were in actual need of.