TORONTO – It seems that many Blue Jays fans were holding out for a hero. Instead, they got J.A. Happ. And judging from the reaction of some vocalists on social media, they felt short-changed.
But Happ is a Blue Jay again because he filled an urgent need without forcing the club to give up a prospect, a major-league player or a draft pick, says interim general manager Tony LaCava.
The Jays needed starting pitchers. Inside of two weeks, before the free agent market took off, they added three. That David Price is not among them is almost beside the point, because the return of David Price was always a pipe dream, embraced by those reluctant to accept that his August arrival was part of a Faustian bargain – albeit a bargain that paid enormous short-term dividends, on and off the field.
Nothing in the foregoing is likely to mollify those in the media and the fan base who believe that Alex Anthopoulos, had he stayed, would have moved heaven, Earth and ownership’s bean counters to bring back Price. Anthopoulos made big deals that led to a big payoff. But as a consequence, he would have faced the same market realities and payroll parameters that new president Mark Shapiro and interim general manager Tony LaCava are navigating. (Oh yes, and the challenge of replenishing the trade-depleted farm system too.)
Josh (“MVP, MVP”) Donaldson is due for a big raise, putting his pay in the US$10-12-million range. R.A. Dickey’s US$12-million remains on the books. The three newly embedded starters – Happ, Marco Estrada and Jesse Chavez – will make a combined US$26-million or so. Eight other players are due for generally modest raises in arbitration, assuming the Jays want them back.
So LaCava did a predictable sidestep when asked during a conference call whether the Happ signing – at US$36-million over three years – meant that Price is gone for good.
“I’m just not going to comment on free agents that are out there,” LaCava said, leaving unsaid that paying Price upwards of US$200-million over seven years is a tad rich for the Jays’ blood.
“We’ve had dialogue with any number of (free agents), a wide net we’ve cast, and we still have conversations with various free agents and their agents and also with other teams looking at the trade market as well,” LaCava said, in classic Anthopoulos fashion. “I wouldn’t rule anything out right now, but certainly we did address some of the bigger needs that we had.”
***
In dire need of rotation help, the Jays added three pitchers who aggregated 85 starts this past season.
First, they brought back Estrada, one of the league’s top (and unheralded) starters, before free agency heated up. They traded reliever Liam Hendriks for Chavez. Then came Happ, back in the fold after a year in Seattle and Pittsburgh, and owner of a timely hot streak over the season’s final two months.
All three set career highs in innings pitched. Dickey remains the only Jays’ starter ever to have reached 200 innings. The presumptive No. 1 starter, Marcus Stroman, has not pitched a full season in the big leagues.
Which is part of the reason the Jays found Happ attractive. A veteran of seven full seasons, he tossed 172 innings last year. He is also left-handed. And his late-season surge in Pittsburgh brought a flock of prospective suitors, he said in a conference call.
The Jays, he suggested, were the most aggressive. They traded him to Seattle for outfielder Michael Saunders a year ago, but he happily considered a return to Toronto.
“I really enjoyed it there,” he said, “and then watching from afar, seeing what this team did last year – you know, it’s fun to watch this team. I kind of wanted to come back and be a part of that.”
He watched the Jays’ playoff run with a tinge of envy. His two-plus seasons as a Blue Jay were rife with frustration.
“When I played in Toronto, the whole time I was there, it was like, ‘If we could make it to the playoffs, this city would just be nuts,” he said.
A city gone nuts, a winning team, a guaranteed rotation spot and $US36-million made Happ’s decision easy. LaCava said the price was fair for a pitcher the Jays had labeled “a priority.”
“We felt strongly that J.A. fit what we were trying to do this offseason,” LaCava said.
***
Happ got off to a good start in Seattle, then sputtered. By July 31, when he was traded to Pittsburgh, his ERA was 4.64.
But then he hooked up with Pirates pitching coach Ray Searage, who straightened out his delivery (literally) and helped him raise his arm slot. That sharpened his command, which meant he could throw four-seam fastballs far more often and with greater effect.
For the Pirates, he posted a 7-2 record and 1.85 ERA in seven starts.
Yes, that was in the National League, where pitchers have to take a turn at bat and the offence is not nearly as potent as in the American League East. Still, Happ turned a few heads among clubs that figured he could maintain the edge he found in Pittsburgh.
As a Pirate, he threw four-seamers roughly 65 per cent of the time. He said he has always relied heavily on his fastball, but earlier in the season, he began to stray. Refining his delivery helped him regain confidence in his fastball.
“The fact that I was repeating my delivery better was a lot better for my placement and my command, hitting that down-and-away, hitting that corner,” he said.
Meanwhile, LaCava and his staff will use the upcoming week to prepare for the winter meetings, which start on Dec. 7 in Nashville. There, everybody will be in a mood to deal.
So far, so good, LaCava insisted, no matter what the skeptics might say about the absence of a proven ace. To buttress the rotation, all it has cost so far is money. Since Happ was traded during the season, he was ineligible for a qualifying offer, so the Jays did not have to surrender a draft pick to sign him.
“We haven’t lessened our offence, which we think is elite,” LaCava said. “We haven’t given up any draft picks and we haven’t traded any prospects, so we feel like we’re off to a good start this offseason in terms of addressing our needs.”
Most other teams have not been so active. But when the rivals shift gears, their moves might pave the way for the Jays to make some of their own, LaCava said.
“Things change quickly,” he said, “and as the offseason unfolds, teams may make moves that allow them to maybe deal someone that they didn’t even think they could deal because they now have addressed something else.”
Which might mean that the rotation rebuild isn’t over yet.