Are the New York Yankees getting the old J.A. Happ back?

Do the New York Yankees have their own version of Jekyll and Hyde in their starting rotation or do they have a solid veteran pitcher who just lost his way last season? All winter long, I wanted the New York Yankees to dump starting pitcher J.A. Happ.

The 37-year-old starter was a dumpster fire last season, and the Yankees were paying him $17 million. The lefty arm showed some life in September last year and then pulled off a great escape in a crucial game against the Astros in the playoffs.

Of course, that was followed by a one pitch walk off the following inning. Happ has always been a crafty pitcher, but last year just looked mediocre at times. He could not keep the ball in the ballpark and sometimes it looked like he was tossing batting practices.

The Yankees were looking at a rotation of Gerrit Cole, Luis Severino, James Paxton, Masahiro Tanaka, and the returning Jordan Montgomery. There was no room for Happ, and most fans were begging for the Yankees to find a way to dump that salary. Well, injuries have taken down two of the Yankees top three starters, and now the Yankees need Happ.

However, depending on J.A. Happ was not something that any Yankee fan wanted to do after last season. That being said, what we’ve seen from J.A. so far in Spring Training is making fans ask the question, “Is Happ Back?”

Going into 2020

J.A. Happ has come into Spring Training with a chip on his shoulder, and he’s pitching like he has something to prove. He knows that fans’ expectations are extremely low for him despite being extremely high for the team. Happ has dominated this spring, posting a 1.38 ERA in 13 innings. Happ has also struck out 16 batters in those 13 innings.

Happ is starting to look like the pitcher we saw in 2018. The Happ that carried the Yankees through the second half of the season, posting an incredible 7-0 record with a 2.69 ERA. Yes, it is only Spring Training, but Happ looks to be a different pitcher. A lot was made about the baseballs that were used last year, and maybe it just took Happ a while to get adjusted.

Maybe the Happ we saw in September last year and the Happ we’ve seen so far this spring, is the Happ that we should expect as fans. I’m not sitting here saying that I expect Happ to contend for a Cy Young, but I do think Happ is going to revert back to his normal line. I think an ERA in the mid to high threes is something that fans should expect this year. I do think he will still struggle with the long-ball at times, but I expect that ERA to be a full run lower if Happ returns to form for the Yankees.

2020 and Beyond

What will be really interesting is to watch what the Yankees do with Happ over the upcoming season. The Yankees will be getting James Paxton and Domingo German back at some point this year. Will Happ maintain his spot in the rotation? He does have a vesting option, so maybe the Yankees try to manipulate the innings to keep him from reaching that point to save the payroll for next season. Or maybe Happ will be so good that he forces the Yankees hand during 2020. Either way, I’m nowhere near as worried about Happ being in this rotation as I was in December. I think the Yankees are just fine with Happ being one of the back end starters of this rotation moving forward.