JA Happ, Twins agree to deal

MINNEAPOLIS – After a slow start to their offseason, the Twins took their first step in strengthening the starting rotation on Wednesday by agreeing to a one-year, $ 8 million contract with veteran left-hander JA Happ, sources told MLB .com. The club have not confirmed the deal, which is awaiting a physical exam.

MINNEAPOLIS – After a slow start to their offseason, the Twins took their first step in bolstering the starting rotation on Wednesday by agreeing to a one-year, $ 8 million contract with the veteran left-hander. JA Happsources told MLB.com. The club have not confirmed the deal, which is awaiting a physical exam.

Happ, 38, adds depth to a starting squad considerably thinned by departures from Jake odorizzi and Rich hill from the 2020 rotation. As it stands, Happ should slide to the back of the rotation behind Kenta maeda, José Berríos and Michael pineda.

• Monitoring of hot stoves

Happ has a 3.98 ERA in 324 career appearances and has appeared in 15 playoff games. The southpaw has been a consistent and enduring pitcher throughout his 14-year MLB career, and he recently spent more than two seasons with the Yankees following a 2018 trade from Toronto. Although he struggled with home runs in 19 within the confines of Yankee Stadium, he rebounded with a strong 20 season in which he threw a 3.47 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP, this last being the best mark of his career.

Fueled by less reliance on his four-seam fastball and increased use of his sinker, Happ’s underlying metrics were also better across the board in 2020. He lowered his whammy rate, barrel rate. and his average allowable exit speed, and all that he expected. stats indicated it allowed less productive contact with hitters. In fact, its xERA of 3.28, per Statcast (a projection of ERA based on contact quality), was by far its lowest since Statcast started tracking in 2015.

Another encouraging sign for Happ was that he started missing more bats with his slider last season, generating a 31.7% odor rate, a jump of more than 10 points from his mark. of 2019. The Twins and pitching coach Wes Johnson have been aggressive in their use and development of sliders over the past two seasons.

The addition of Happ is also significant in that the Twins’ starting rotation was heavily skewed by righties even before Hill went into free agency.

The Twins might still have room to add more starting depth, as the club saw a rash of injuries throughout their rotation last season. Randy Dobnak could hold a starting spot after a solid 2020, but options for depth Lewis thorpe and Devin smeltzer both struggled in their second season.

The Twins also have high expectations behind the scenes as top starting prospects Jhoan Duran and Jordan Balazovic are likely to have an impact on the Major League club at some point in 2021. A low-risk deal with a commitment a year to a consistent veteran like Happ could continue to close the gap with these two young arms, giving them time to complete their development without being pushed too aggressively into the big league.

The club had previously added right-hander Hansel Robles for a one-year contract, but have otherwise been calm in the free agent market.