Pirates' Happ Heading off to Toronto
By Kipper
@pghsportsforum
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/p...s/201511270123
"By Bill Brink / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
J.A. Happ parlayed two strong months in the Pirates starting rotation into a sizable contract, leaving the Pirates to continue their search for another starter.
Happ, a left-hander whose arrival bolstered the rotation in the second half of the 2015 season, signed a three-year, $36 million contract Friday with the Toronto Blue Jays.
Happ, 33, went 7-2 with a 1.85 ERA after joining the Pirates at the trade deadline from the Seattle Mariners. After posting a 4.64 ERA in Seattle, Happ struck out 69 in 63⅓ innings with the Pirates and allowed three or fewer earned runs in all but one start.
Because the Pirates traded for Happ in mid-season, they could not extend him a one-year, $15.8 million qualifying offer, meaning the Blue Jays don’t have to surrender a draft pick to sign him. The Pirates attempted to re-sign Happ after the season, but it is not known what they offered.
Happ pitched for the Blue Jays, who reached the American League Championships Series this past season before losing to the eventual World Series champion Kansas City Royals, for parts of three seasons, from 2012-14. The Blue Jays traded him to Seattle after the 2014 season.
The Pirates still need a starter to add to Gerrit Cole, Francisco Liriano, Charlie Morton and Jeff Locke. Top prospects Tyler Glasnow and Jameson Taillon almost certainly won’t make the roster out of spring training, injuries decimated their Class AAA starting depth and they lost two starters, Happ and A.J. Burnett (retirement), from their 2015 roster. The Pirates recently traded for right-hander Allen Webster, 25, who has struggled in parts of three major league seasons but still has good raw stuff and could contribute to either the rotation or the bullpen.
Toronto needed rotation help after David Price and Mark Buehrle reached free agency. They took the first steps by re-signing Marco Estrada and trading for Jesse Chavez, and now add Happ to a group that also includes Marcus Stroman, R.A. Dickey and Drew Hutchison.
Bill Brink: bbrink@post-gazette.com and Twitter @BrinkPG."