Yankees: 3 players NYY must ditch before 2021 season

2. JA Happ

Yeah, um…do I even need to explain this? No more JA Happ in Yankees pinstripes.

Aaron Boone got plenty of guff for his JA Happ maneuver in Game 2 of the ALDS, but we can’t fully examine the move without acknowledging…it might’ve worked if Happ weren’t involved. Happ isn’t…he isn’t good.

Down the stretch, Happ continued to tantalize by fooling us with excellent starts against the playoff-bound Blue Jays and (gulp) Mets, lowering his ERA to the point where we somehow all forgot the ultimate hittability of his velocity-diminished fastball.

Happ isn’t a part of the solution, and with his low-threshold vesting option not vesting, the 37-year-old should apparate elsewhere, in favor of any number of lower-cost, mid-tier free agents or top prospects.

Clarke Schmidt will need a rotation spot, as will Deivi Garcia, most likely. The team will require veteran experience in the five-man unit as well, and someone like Mike Minor can provide everything Happ thought he still had in his arsenal more consistently. Perhaps they even splurge for Trevor Bauer? Whoever the Yankees replace Happ in the rotation with, it must be someone who is theoretically useable in a playoff game.

If Happ had been that level of competent, Game 2 would’ve turned out differently. It was still winnable, with almost anyone else on the mound.