Yankees re-sign J.A Happ to two-year deal with a vesting option for a third

After much speculation throughout this week’s Winter Meetings, the Yankees and J.A. Happ agreed to a two-year deal with a vesting option for a third year.

Heading into the offseason Brian Cashman said his main goal was to add two elite-level starting pitchers to the Yankees rotation for 2019. First, he added James Paxton in a trade with the Seattle Mariners and now the re-signing of Happ.

Once the Yankees missed out on signing Patrick Corbin, the top free agent starter on the market it made a ton of sense for them to pivot to Happ. According to multiple reports, Happ was looking to sign with a team that gave him a guaranteed three-year deal, but it seems like he made an exception to return to the Yankees because they’re a team that can compete for a championship.

The details on his vesting option are unknown, but as long as he stays healthy he should be able to meet the requirements in order to guarantee him that third year.

$17-18 million might seem like a lot of money to pay a 36-year-old per season, but this was a move I really believe the Yankees had to make. Sure they could have been very aggressive and pursued a trade for a guy like Corey Kluber or Noah Syndergaard but that would’ve required them to part ways with either Miguel Andujar or Estevan Florial. Those are two players the organization loves and project to be a big part of the team’s future.

Signing Happ just costs them money which is something they have a lot to spend, especially now that they’re under the luxury tax threshold for the first time in years. Happ may not be an ace, but he’s a very solid 2 or 3 in a rotation and for this Yankee team he could project to be their fourth best stater.

Happ was outstanding for the Yanks last summer after they acquired him prior to the July 31st trade deadline, going 7-0 with a 2.69 ERA. His one postseason start against the Red Sox in Game 1 of the ALDS was not good at all, but then again not many other starters fared well against Boston last October.

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One thing Happ brings to the Yankees rotation is stability and durability. He never gets hurt and every time he takes the mound you know he’s going to keep his team in the game. In a Yankee rotation filled with guys who have injury histories that’s huge because you can count on Happ to give you 30-32 quality starts over 180-200 innings.

Happ may be getting up there in age, but he continues to get better the older he gets. Last season he set a career high in strikeouts with 193 and he did so mostly by pounding the upper part of the strike zone with fastballs. In today’s game where most hitters are focused on launching the ball, Happ is the perfect kryptonite to force hitters to swing underneath and miss barrels.

I don’t think there’s any doubt now with Happ in the fold that the Yankees have one of the best rotations in all of baseball and one that could help lead them to a World Series in 2019. There’s still work to be done in other areas (bullpen/middle infield), but give credit to Brian Cashman for addressing the team’s biggest need this quickly into the offseason.