The New York Yankees have reportedly acquired left-handed pitcher JA Happ on Thursday afternoon, as first reported by Jon Heyman of FanCred.
Toronto’s return for the southpaw has not been made official as of yet, but it is believed that infielder Brandon Drury and outfield prospect Billy McKinney are on their way to the Blue Jays.
Happ provides the much-needed rotation depth the Yankees have been in search for. With five days remaining until Major League Baseball’s trade deadline, New York was linked with plenty of notable names whether that be Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, Cole Hamels and Chris Archer.
The 35-year-old will be a free agent at the end of the season which means he will be nothing more than a rental down the stretch before the Yankees seriously address their pitching staff over the winter.
But Happ will bring some stability to the Bronx for the time being. Making his first-ever All-Star appearance this year, Happ is 10-6 with a 4.18 ERA on a Blue Jays team that is already out of contention.
Happ will now join CC Sabathia as the lefties in the starting rotation and will likely slot in as a second or third starter behind staff ace Luis Severino and, possibly, the veteran southpaw as the Yankees gear up for a postseason run.
Toronto’s return of Drury alone is a solid one even though the third baseman hasn’t worked out with the Yankees. Migraines sidelined him earlier this year which allowed the young Miguel Andujar to step in and take over the job full time.
What did the Blue Jays get in return for JA Happ?
Regardless, Drury is just 25 years old and under team control for another three seasons. From 2016-2017 with the Arizona Diamondbacks, Drury batted .275 with a combined 29 home runs and 116 RBI in 269 games.
McKinney, who primarily plays left field, was ranked by MLB.com as the Yankees’ No. 20 prospect. The left-handed 23-year-old is batting .227 with 13 home runs and 32 RBI in 55 games with triple-A Scranton Wilkes/Barre.
