Minnesota Twins could find a needed left-handed starter in J.A. Happ

The Minnesota Twins need to continue to close the gap between them and the top teams when it comes to pitching. Could J.A. Happ be of help?

The Minnesota Twins have some quality arms to slot in as starting pitchers this coming 2019 season even if they do nothing this offseason in the way of making starting pitcher additions. While they have quality arms, those arms without drastic improvement may not make up a rotation that can compete through the long haul of a season and a postseason run. That makes adding an impact arm to that bunch important before the club hits spring training.

As Jon Morosi is always leading the industry in reporting rumors from the hot stove rumor mill, he left us this little tweet to let us know about the Twins interest in free agent starting pitcher J.A. Happ.

Happ is recognizable name after 12 seasons of pitching in the major leagues. He isn’t the type of player that makes you want to throw everything you have at him to acquire him, but the former third-round southpaw is a player worth looking at as he does still sit towards the top of this offseason’s starting pitching class.

Happ finished 2018 with the New York Yankees after being acquired from the Toronto Blue Jays. The pitcher with a career 3.65 ERA made 11 starts with the Yankees and produced a 2.69 ERA and a 63/16 K/BB rate. All performances that the Twins would welcome to their rotation especially as it comes from a side of the mound they currently have no one to boast outside of unproven commodities such as Stephen Gonsalves and Adalberto Mejia.

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This would become an especially attractive signing if the Twins were to get outbid for the services of Patrick Corbin but aren’t sold on some of the other possible options. As can be seen in his stats with the Yankees, Happ generally does well at keeping walks to a minimum and will come at a much cheaper price than some of the other options. MLB Trade Rumors predicts Happ landing a 3 year and $48 million contract.

Happ’s 36 years of age may draw some caution as teams look at Happ, but it really shouldn’t as he is pitching as well as he ever has throughout his career. Even though the Twins have a lot of money to spend this offseason, they also have quite a few roster spots that need an upgrade. With that in mind, plugging the left-handed Happ into the rotation at $12-18 million per season wouldn’t be a bad place be at the end of the offseason. He would also likely be on a multi-year deal which would help provide some security as Kyle Gibson, Jake Odorizzi, and Michael Pineda are all free agents at seasons end.

Of course, there is always a pause whenever you look to hand a considerable amount of money to a pitcher. Happ does come with his warts. Namely, he does have a tendency to give up the long ball which is a likely explanation for the 4.18 ERA Happ had before heading to New York.

Then again, every free agent signing is a bit of a gamble and Happ is as educated of a gamble as you can make this offseason. And there is some assurance in what Happ’s floor would be as a starter with a track record of having a FIP and xFIP below of 4.00. That alone provides any team, including the Twins, value and a reason to sign the veteran.