The Yankees rotation is falling apart again. Domingo German is suspended, James Paxton is out 4 months, and Luis Severino needs TJ surgery. JA Happ is the number 3 starter to begin the season. There’s no way around it, Happ was ass in 2019. As the 2020 season nears, the Yankees need Happ more than ever. I’m not sure he has to be much better than he was to provide value to New York as crazy as that sounds. The best feature of JA Happ is something the Yankees need the most.
Over the last 5 years, Happ has made 149 starts. That ranks 14th in the big leagues during that stretch. Happ takes the ball every 5th day and gives you innings. Not everybody can say that. That means something for an injury rittled rotation. Especially a team that will score runs and have a dominant back half of the bullpen.
It’s only February. Masahiro Tanaka has been hurt before. It would be a real shame if something happened to Gerrit Cole. There’s no question the Yankees need Happ. Old and expensive or not. The Yankees need the starts Happ provides. Happ, 37, had an ERA of 4.91 in 2019. However, New York went 20-10 in the 30 starts he made. I think they will take that again regardless of the performance.
There’s reason to believe Happ will bounce back in 2020. He can’t get worse, right? In the last 6 outings he made in 2019, Happ an opponent batting average against of .177 and 2.23 ERA over 32.1 innings. Worst case, Happ is a durable left handed option that provides innings. That has to mean something.
