Jan. 22: Happ’s deal has been formally announced by the Twins. Their 40-man roster is now up to 37 players.
Jan. 20, 4:22pm: Happ will earn $8MM, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets.
4:00pm: The Twins and free-agent left-hander J.A. Happ have reached a one-year agreement, pending a physical, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN. Happ is a client of Rogers Sports Management, LLC.
Minnesota will be the seventh different organization for Happ, who spent time with the Phillies, Astros, Blue Jays, Mariners, Pirates and Yankees from 2007-20. The well-traveled 38-year-old has put together a solid career in the majors, where he owns a 3.98 ERA/4.21 SIERA and a 20.9 percent strikeout rate against an 8.4 percent walk rate through 1,741 1/3 innings.
For the most part, Happ’s numbers last year as a Yankee aligned with his career totals. He put up 49 1/3 frames of 3.47 ERA ball with a 21.4 percent strikeout rate and a 7.7 percent walk rate, also averaging about 91 mph on his fastball. He was also somewhat of a Statcast favorite, as he ranked better than average in several of its categories and recorded a .270 expected weighted on-base average against that outdid the .280 wOBA hitters logged when facing him. However, the 4.53 SIERA that Happ notched does count among the worst of his career.
Based on what he has done to this point, Happ should be a respectable back-end starter for the Twins, who have seen 2020 rotation members Jake Odorizzi and Rich Hill reach free agency since the offseason opened. The back-to-back AL Central champions now have Happ set to slot in behind Kenta Maeda, Jose Berrios and Michael Pineda in their starting staff.
From a payroll vantage point, Happ puts Minnesota just north of $100MM on the books in 2021. That’s still about $30MM shy of where they would’ve been in 2020, prior to the league-wide prorating of salaries, so there’s still room for the Twins to add. The organization’s priority has been squarely focused on Nelson Cruz for much of the winter, though the 40-year-old slugger has been hoping for a two-year deal and is waiting until there’s definitive word on the universal DH before making any decisions.
The Twins could still make further moves to bolster the starting staff between now and Opening Day, but at the moment, Randy Dobnak looks like the front-runner to serve as their No. 5 starter. Lefty Devin Smeltzer is also on hand as a fifth-starter candidate, and prospects Jhoan Duran and Jordan Balazovic aren’t far behind in the upper minors.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Passan also said Brantley to the Jays so I’m gonna wait a bit before I have any sort of reaction 🙂
Don’t worry it Happ-ened
Haha. Happ is terrible. I wonder if they are going to be dumb enough to follow in the Yankees footsteps and overpay him like crazy.
$8mm?? Wow seems like an overpay
Thank Robbie Ray.
Wow, @chitown.
Sure does. I figured maybe 1/4. That feels really steep for Happ.
Originally we all thought not only would the market move very slowly, but many of the top free agents might have to settle for lesser deals because of the shortened season. So far, the only contract that looks like a bit of an underpay is DJ LeMahieu’s, but while he was projected to make a lot more per year, he was also projected to get less years than he did.
Yaaaaaa, Yankees will still sweep em in October!
I think we fell for it because of all the posturing done by owners and their claims of lost money. The vaccines being approved no doubt helped. I do honestly believe that the positions of the owners themselves has changed; otherwise, why would they all pass on Hand for 1/$10M?
Yet it’s really been only a handful of teams making significant improvements: Braves, Padres, Mets, Blue Jays, White Sox. So players are getting paid, but not by that many teams.
$8 million is way to much for this guy. He is going to turn 39 years old this season and it’s not like anyone considers him a great pitcher. Happ may be the most likely pitcher in MLB to fall off a cliff next season and pitch so poorly that he can’t get anyone out without giving up tons of runs. My guess is J.A. Happ’s career will end before the 2021 season will end.
Dude Charlie Morton got 15 million, Drew Smyly got 11 million and that other clown from the Giants got 18 million and they’re all garbage so pipe it.
Says the guy with zero MLB experience
Smiley seems way overpaid
Smiley is the same age as Springer and had an FIP or 2.01 last season. That at least implies dominance and his ERA in the 3’s (ERA is far less important than FIP) was good as well. Last season suggests Smiley was very good and would have been much better on a different team that played at least average defense behind him. I think it’s the Braves that paid Smyly $11 million. The Braves defense is far superior to the geezers that play defense for the Giants. Braves pitchers regularly out perform their FIP’s (i.e. Soroka, Fried, Teheran, Anderson). If Smyly performs like he did last season for the Giants it wouldn’t be out of Braves starting pitchers character for him to post an ERA in the 1.00’s. That’s super valuable for a starting pitcher. Injuries are a question but let’s be honest… Smyly isn’t Alex Wood when it comes to injuries and Smyly is coming off a great year in terms of both stats and peripherals.
ERA is results. FIP is theory. I would pay for the guy that gets results.
Cool story bro. You forgot to mention that the sample size you’re referencing for Smyly last year is across a whopping 26 innings. Outside of that the guy had a collective ERA of over 5.00 dating back to 2015 and he didn’t even set foot on an MLB mound for two whole years in between all that. That was an idiotic signing by the Braves when you have guys like Happ here making significantly less. I’m still shocked they gave that dude 11 million. Kluber the guy with the Cy Young awards on his resume just got 11 million. And his health has been significantly better than Smyly’s over the last five years. Let that sink in for a minute.
I’m with you guys, Ducky. I’m shocked he’s getting 8M considering age/production. I feel for Twins fans because I think they could’ve done better than this for 8M, maybe even less.
Hopefully he has a decent year, but then we homer off him in the playoffs.
Stym
I’m with you on era. It’s not a perfect stat no stat really is. All of a sudden it’s as if a strike out is worth is worth more than a weak ground out to the shortstop. Their are times where being able to strike a guy out with runners on is certainly an advantage but that would affect your overall era and calculated into your performance. I loved watching a guy like Pedro Martinez pitch but Greg Maddux got the job done just in a different way
Hey, Happ we will miss you not! Have fun playing with the Twinkies.
ERA is results. FIP is theory. I would pay for the guy that gets results.
===============================================================
If you are paying for results, then you are paying someone for something they did in the past. I would prefer to pay someone for what they will do next year.
They give more and more credit to pitchers for strikeouts but don’t apply the same reasoning to batters.
I am rabidly passionately PO’d.
Tankers should not be guaranteed top draft pick……
Last place teams should not partake in profit sharing…..
MLB teams are operating as monopolies, stealing from fans by forcing inferior products……
How can you say a guy who posted a 3.47 ERA is “terrible” don’t get me wrong I’m also not saying he’s a CY contender but he’s not being asked to be. He’s a back end of the rotation SP for the Twins and if he pitches like he did last season he’ll be a very welcome addition to the Twins rotation!!
They love former Yankees first was Phil Hughes,Pavano ,Pineda and now Happ.
Why not Tanaka?
Or Paxton??
Tanaka wants big money. Happ is almost done.
Jimmer if it’s truly only for 1 season I’d pay Tanaka the money.
Be patient.
If I had to guess? Tanaka has zero interest pitching in Minnesota. He’s either a) going to pitch in a larger market like NY or LA on a 1-year deal or b) go back to Japan. Unless he gets offered a bunch of money, as I’d imagine cash would be the great equalizer for a smaller market team trying to sign him.
Why does the size of the market matter to Tanaka? Do you have something to back that up?
Tanaka likely wants a multi-year and certainly more money, but better than Happ. I’m confused about Paxton. As frustrating as he was at times I’d assume he projects as a much more suitable SP, for not that much more money. Then again, he may not want a one-year deal.
Actually, Paxton may want a one year deal. He may realize that his injury history will make it hard for a team to offer multiple years, especially coming off a year when they had no revenue from attendance. He may feel that a one year deal will allow him to cash in big time next year, if he can avoid injury for all or most of 2021. If he does want a one year deal, the Yankees should be talking to him.
Will the Twins refute?
Rest of AL officially on notice
Jays*
Solid pitcher. Let’s see if he has another year left in him.
The market is starting to percolate a bit. Good depth piece for the Twins.
Twins should be all in now that the Indians traded Lindor and White Sox getting better. Twins need someone better than Happ. Start unloading some prospects and get someone better.
They should be, but they’ve done practically nothing so far. It’s kind of confusing, honestly.
That’s the Twins way. Talk big at the end of the season, and then scrabble for all the 2nd and 3rd raters left at the end of the break. Is it any wonder they choke every post season – if they even get there.
Actually, several teams do that, and usually quite successfully. Check to see how many guys Oakland, Minny & TB signed so far, and they all finished 1st last year, with relatively small payrolls.
Signing smarter is better than signing quicker.
Many define success as winning a World Series.
More amazed that KC managed to pull it off, they spent but it was 2nd & 3rd raters.
Oak, Min, TB keep getting close. Impressive without the rings. Would like to see Cle win with a $22m payroll this year to really set the bar.
CWS pulling ahead on paper, MIN/CLE still have strong looking rosters. KC plugging holes and a healthy Sal goes a long way still (18-19 with him, 8-15 without!).
Spring Training is so close!!!!!
I’m glad he’s not coming back to the Yankees. For every good inning, he’ll give two bad ones.
I guess I’m not all that unHappy to see him gone. They end was a tad rugged. He kinda struck me as a guy who complains.
Good luck out here with the Twins.
They’ve done pretty well with former Yankees. Hoping when the Yanks are in town he’ll be on the hill.
I’d like to sample some of that BP Happ.
Interesting. In Toronto, both stints, he seemed like the type of guy who looked the exact same in pictures. Looked the same pitching a no hitter versus serving 8 in the first. Even-keel.
Once he unnecessarily started complaining publicly about his GS/innings last year, I knew the Yankees were through with him. Hope he has some kind of Phil Hughes revival.
Happ at this point is a fourth or fifth starter. If he’s deployed that way and paid like one, this is a decent signing.
Best of luck to you Happ. Was wondering if you would be returning to the Jays. Happ-y to see you leave the Yanks though!
Trust me, not as happy as Yankees fans are to see him go. Ahahaha!
Drat, the O’s should have signed him, but they had no interest
He’s a joke and loser gave up on the yankees
No way should the Orioles have signed him. Nothing left in the tank and way too overpriced.
Was rumored the Angels were in on him. Wonder if he signed today because we pivoted elsewhere.
Guessing – 2/10.5 with 2nd year team option – 5 guaranteed only for yr 1
This is such a Twins ink
How much can a guy like Happ get on the market today, I’m guessing 3.5M?
LMAO, this is really a solid addition for the White Sox; considering how they smash left handed pitching
And yeah as a yankee fan I know this guy is a joke he gave up on the team in post season game
And a regular season game he did has well
Twins locking up that second place spot
they wish… more like they are locking their way out of the post season
Can’t be worse than Homer Bailey last year.
Ok 8 million is dumb if they don’t bring back Cruz.
They will be smart not to bring back Cruz unless it’s for 1 year somewhere around Happ money. They can fill the DH hole with serviceable numbers with players already on the roster. They have other holes to worry about filling. Overpaying for Cruz should be low on their list.
He is the best hitter on the team, not sure I follow your logic.
Not quite Bauer.
As a Yankee fan, I won’t miss Happ one bit.
Neither will I
Does Farhan know he only has one left handed starting pitcher on the roster? Now Lester and Happ are gone. Better make a run at Hamels.
Seems like a Hill signing all over again. Not bad by any means either, but he’s just a decent innings eater. Happ got a bad rap in NY because the fans obliterated his every move, but he wasn’t all that bad. Decent signing, but I’m waiting to see the price tag for it. Nice to see the Twins finally making some noise.
1 year 8 mil? Good. The same price as Quintana which some might call an overpay, but I think it’s a good price. Safe 1 year deal.
Rich Hill is actually good when he plays
Yes. Fills a rotation hole with a veteran. $8mm not bad. I would have probably threw a few more bucks at Quintana instead but that’s just me. Maybe they tried.
I am hoping MKE signs a LHP this offseason. Happ or Q would have filled the bill. Still a few more out there. Any thoughts?
Here’s a thought, put your hope machine in neutral & step away from the beer & cheese.
Ahahahaha!
Gray and Suarez to Mets, allegedly.
Who “alleged”?
Yeah, I want to see a link on this. Hell of a deal if true. Maybe MetsFan22 would actually have a team worth bragging about.
Headline edited from “land blockbuster” to “negotiating”. They changed it a few minutes ago. I’ll keep the “alleged” part intact as this is ongoing.
Closest I found was this: amny.com/sports/report-mets-reached-out-to-reds-fo…
Gary Sheffield
Gary Sheffield is out here breaking news? I have to go see for myself. Brb.
He hasn’t tweeted in a year. Where are you getting the headline from?
Did I say it was Twitter?
I figured that’s where any news would break. Where did you see it?
Supposedly someone identified as the GM of the Mets reached out to the Reds Monday afternoon but for some reason he’s not returning calls now.
Seems like a pretty solid deal for the Twins. I mean he posted a 3.47 ERA last season. Even if his underlying numbers weren’t quite as good… he’ll definitely be able to provide some pretty solid innings for the club. In fact I’m kind of disappointed disappointed the Red Sox didn’t consider him. Instead just resigning Martin Perez who’ll be lucky to post a 4.50 ERA and he’s only making like $2-$3M less. You’d think the Red Sox would be more willing to actually sign some pitchers who have better track records seeing as they’re below the tax threshold and reset their penalties. Theyve made it clear they aren’t going to actually make the substantial moves they really need to to return to being competitive. Bur they should at least be doing a better job of signing some better starting pitching Seeing as they already have a very solid offensive core… signing just a couple of decent (like 3.50-4.00 ERA) type pitchers could have immediately made them a legitimate possibility for a wild card. instead they’ve basically stayed put and seem content to once again risk having a potentially terrible pitching staff. I realize getting E-Rod and eventually Sale back will be a huge boost. But seriously they don’t need all that much to position themselves to AT LEAST be a competitive team yet instead they’ve seemingly thrown in the towel on a second consecutive season. Idk it just doesn’t really make sense. It’d be one thing if they actually didn’t have talent anywhere on their roster. But that’s not the case. They’re good enough offensively that literally acquiring just a decent starter or 2 and a couple of relievers and they could have at the very least, pretended to be competitive next season. It’s just frustrating they’re not even making an attempt to bring in SPs with the potential to make them competitive.
Can you repeat that Jeff? Ahahahaha!
Oooofffff!!! $8M seems like an overpay, but Smyly got $11M, so I guess anything goes.
Well, they needed someone in that rotation. Not exactly a move that puts them over the top. Being a White Sox fan, I’m not exactly unhappy that the Twins have done next to nothing this offseason, but I am surprised. Seems like they should have made Cruz too good an offer to pass up and go after Paxton and Hand.
They can still do that if they choose.
Has a yankee fan goodbye I think he didn’t pitch well in that playoff game bc he was coming in from the pen.
In the season he gave up in one game I watch all yankee games and I seen it that one game doing the season his body Language was the same in the post.
What a joke good bye what a loser he Quit on the team.
Seems like $8mm for a 1 year deal on a pitcher who ate best lasts 5 innings is the standard price ie. Angels and Quintana and now Happ.. Porcello and Paxton would be next….
I wonder if $8MM is the number because that eliminates the NYY from bidding?
Excellent deal for the Twins! I was hoping Toronto might go after him, would have been perfect for a bridge until Woods-Richardson was ready. Nicely done Twins.
You must be trolling
Teams serious about the World series sign serious pitcher to the top of their staff… you can never have too good of pitching.. you can however have too much garbage pitching if you want to win… this signing stinks… and shows they don’t care.. ..
He’s a quality #3 guy.. His career numbers are similar to Bauer who has had 2 good seasons in his career. Not sure why everyone is so high on Bauer, I wouldn’t give him the kind of money he’s looking for.
he’s filler.. the twins need top pitching to advance and have a chance at the World series.. history shows this.. pitching is the surest path to championships…
Happ is light years from a quality #3 now, He is a poor backend guy now Comparing a retread junk balling fringe LHP to Baurer is just stupidity.
You’re kind of dramatic for an old guy someoldguy
Someoldguy is either Dan Cole or a regular listener is my bet. But can’t disagree with the frustration.
sorry just some old guy who has been a twins fan since the 1960’s… and its clear in all those years that they have made few legitimate efforts to be anything more than ticket sellers with the promise of being ” competitive”… me I grew up playing to win… and so did the players.. the idea that teams don’t commit to winning it all as the objective is foreign to the idea of sports… playing to be competitive is, was and will always be a cop-out to the fans who fund the stadiums… and all the money those stadiums generate… specifically the Twins came hat in hand to the MN people promising to spend the money on ” keeping it stars and buying more”… they haven’t lived up to that commitment at all.. they have milked the stadium with mediocrity.. selling the idea that losing is OK..
Nice, let’s keep a good thing going. I look forward to the 2021 playoffs
Happ vs. that RH’d Yankees lineup doesn’t look like a good match for the Twins.
They don’t need Happ to start in the playoffs. Maeda, Berrios and Pineda already ahead of him. But they do need to add another quality starter.
The top 2 teams against LHP in 2020 were the White Sox and Tigers by a significant margin. White Sox .364 OBP .523 SLG 143 wRC+. Tigers .378 OBP .512 SLG 142 wRC+. The #3 team was the Giants with a 128 wRC+. The Royals were 21st and the Indians 23rd for comparison.
Matchups will be important.
It’s a big part of the reason the Sox went 14-0 during the season against lefties. Those numbers might be unsustainable over a full season, but I agree fully that matchups matter a lot. Surprised that the Tigers did that well against lefties.
Dunno, I think Rizzo might have captured the over-the-hill LHP market with Lester for 5M…..wouldn’t surprise me if he did.
get out your crossword puzzles. Happ is a human rain delay when he pitches
Happ is not as good as his ERA last season, probably not as bad as his ERA in 2019. He’s lost spin and velocity from his Toronto peak days. There was evidence he was losing it when the Yankees signed him. Probably ok as your 5th starter, but $8M seems like a lot for the pitcher he is today.
If Happ gets $8M, then Tanaka has every right to be looking for $18M on a one year deal.
Nothing says striving to be mediocre and get bounced in the first round by signing. Hasbeen
Chuck & duck
Wereallguestshere
That’s just cruel.running that kid around
Eight months from now this signing will either look like a horrifying mistake, or a fantastic bargain. There’s no in-between. I hope for the Twins sake it works. I’m just glad it wasn’t the Phillies.
I mean, it’s a 1-year deal — not much risk here. You could do a lot worse than adding a veteran starter coming off a solid, albeit, shortened season.
Significant risk
I think when you’re in a year where the owners don’t want to spend, and when you’re a team that’s clearly in contention and has had two consecutive good regular seasons, but has been quickly bounced from the playoffs, and you’re in a division where Cleveland’s regressing and Chicago’s ascending, the risk is considerable.
….and Chaim bloom does nothing
Wrong. He makes a lot of insignificant and minor deals that don’t propel the team forward.
Red Sox are not even pretending like they have a desire to contend.
I know this thread is about Happ, but I always thought Pineda would be a good closer. He seems to run out of gas in the 4th inning or so.
Im not sure your theory is based in fact. When healthy he’s pitches well past the 4th inning. Closer would be a miscast role for him. He has too many pitches and doesn’t blow hitters away like the best closers do. Starter, possibly long reliever if pushed to the pen.
Ok signing, low risk, Happ is durable and consistent if unspectacular. Seems to be a good 1 year rotation placeholder until the young guys are ready. Hopefully more pitching moves to follow.
Not for $8 million.
They really need to swing another trade for a top tier starter. Maeda was great, proof these moves can be quite beneficial.
I don’t believe this substantially helps the Twins… I suppose it doesn’t hurt them, but he’s not a great pitcher. He won’t be counted on to win a postseason game for the Twins.
I thinks where it hurts for them is the 8M. Especially in the current financial climate/culture of ownership. But hopefully it won’t be prohibitive for a better signing. Yankees are the epitome of allowing budget excuses to dictate signings.
Because they are trying to reset the luxury tax and not face severe penalties.. The Twins payroll was last year was $129 million. The Yankees were like $210 million
I don’t think it was meant to substantially help the twins – It’s a 1yr 8mil deal to slot in as a 4th starter. What do you expect here?
It’s really not a bad move at all. You kinda know what you are getting here. Might want to avoid those big chicago lefty smashing bats though. Other than that, he could be very useful for this team as a bridge to the future. As a 4th starter, you could do much worse and yes in the best rotations, much better too. He’ll be just fine for minny even if unspectacular. Solid.
Man this post really brought out the White Sox and Yankee Trolls! Reply if you’re a Twins fan so we can talk about the team….
Settle for a baseball fan?
Rosario replaced by Kiriloff?
2017 or 2019 level for Polanco? Somewhere in the middle I guess. That plays. Or is it Royce time?
Cruz replaced by Cruz? That’s a huge loss if he leaves. A healthy Donaldson could help. Coin flip on both healthy in the lineup for most of the year?
What’s the wishlist beyond Cruz? Call the Mets on Davis or Smith? See if the Phils will give a McCutchen for PTBNL? Realmuto push to cover Garver? La Stella? Other. Still some nice options out there. Just spitballin, nothing to a lot of those names listed as far as I know.
Maeda, Berrios, Pineda, Happ, Dobnak? For now? Or happy with that? Seems like it would play.
Alcala, Thielbar, Stashak, Duffey, Rogers and looks like room to add a couple vets still? What’s the pitching wishlist? Similar to most other teams I guess.
Don’t even need a splash. Could afford one if Cruz doesn’t return. Will any big ticket names remain by then? He’s gotta be the top item on wishlist. One of the top remaining relievers. And another of the top remaining relievers and/or a wild card starter after that. Sound believable? Or expect a bit of a different look?
They need to resign cruz for sure. I still think they could use to sign 1-2 more quality starting pitchers. Last year they went the veteren cheap starter route and ran out of arms fairly quickly. I can stomach more “bullpen games” next season. And speaking of bullpen…they are losing a lot – who replaces them? I like bringing up young arms here. Time to see what blazonovic, duran, and others can do in the show. It would be nice to sign one more right-handed stopper in case Taylor Rogers has trouble closing the door like he did last season. Randy Dobnak is not the answer in the rotation. Spot starter, long reliever is a role I prefer with him. Do you agree?
This should say “I CAN’T stomach more bullpen games”
Another wild card starter was mentioned with bumping Dobnak in mind. He’s not brutal, average.
Maybe aiming higher than wild card if Cruz doesn’t return.
Can get away with Happ/Pineda and a third wild card if the offense is mashing. But win a playoff game goal probably means aim for an arm that’ll bump other arms down the list.
Young arms and a stopper type can easily replace May, Clippard, Romo I’d think.
Don’t really study their farm, and didn’t get any AL Central visits for the Jays last year so I could be out to lunch with a couple playoff losses and some stats as my only real reference point.
Love watching Buxton field, plus that HR streak he went on was a fun stretch to follow, boxscore-wise.
Don’t think the bullpen games or openers strategy is a trend that we see ending anytime soon, especially seeing how the Rays pull it off so well,
Didn’t like seeing it in 2019 when the Jays had no other options really, but seeing the Rays really has me feeling like the Jays pitching ingredients could be blended into something better than the sum of the parts. Pipedreaming perhaps. Still thinkin 25-ish other teams in the mix for the remaining arms. Never enough arms. 10-12 teams that think they have a shot still need to get aggressive with their bidding on what’s left!
LOL at you wanting to talk about your team without all the troll comments, considering trolling is what you do on pretty much every non-Twins article.
If you want to talk about the Twins, though, I’d say they’re taking a step back, especially if they don’t sign Cruz or, barring that, Ozuna. Though they have a lot of faith in Kiriloff, I think letting Rosario go might prove to be a mistake. Maeda is a true TOR starter and Berrios is solid, but the rotation after that isn’t imposing and the BP took a hit when May left. Happ’s not bad, but he’s not the answer for them. If the Twins want to remain competitive with the Sox, they should go out and sign Hand or Rosenthal, along with Paxton or Tanaka and make Cruz an offer he can’t refuse, even if it’s an overpay. Getting JD back will help a ton, but both the offense and pitching need to be improved if the Twins are going for anything above another 1st-round exit.
I only troll the trolls on other posts – when your team doesn’t make a headline all winter, it gets boring. Kiriloff will be an upgrade over Rosario. I’m interested to find out where he plays next season because eddie rosario is still a quality mlb starting bat with plenty of pop! He’s just expensive at this stage in his career. You are right, twins need pitchers and not just “guys”. They need to find high end additions if they are serious playoff contenders. Oh and winning an actual playoff game should be on the to-do list as well. JA Happ will give them some starts but he’s nowhere near the answer they need to bang with the big boys in the playoffs.
Hahahahahajajajajajajajajajaj
Thank god
Wow, $8M for Happ? Seems like a steep price for someone that long in the tooth. I’m surprised they didn’t gamble on Kluber or try to get a Cole Hamels for $5M or so.
Pitchers are generally better before and after pitching for the yanks.