HAPP FOR COLE, YEAH THAT COULD HAPPEN

Source: AP

The Yankees are going to add starting pitching.  That is a given.  I mean, really this time, this year, they will add a stud starter.  And if that stud is Gerrit Cole, awesome!  But what if I told you that the rumblings are that J.A. Happ could be part of the deal to get Cole.  I kid you not...

According to a story late yesterday in the New York Post, "One outside executive who believed the Yankees would go for Cole if they could clear salary suggested that the Yankees would try to attach a desirable second piece to Happ and trade him to a starter-hungry team such as the Angels or White Sox, who would not mind the risk of the 2021 option vesting. For example, tie Luis Cessa or a pitching prospect to Happ."

Source: AP

Wow that would be excellent.  Happ has lived up to the expectations the team had for him when they picked him up back in 2018.  "Much of his 2019 season was rocky, as he allowed a career-high 34 homers while going 12-8 with a 4.91 ERA over 30 starts plus a five-inning relief outing in his regular-season final," reported NJ.com.  He was not part of the starting rotation in the post season and was not expected to be there.  He is a class act and well educated, but he has not performed at the level the Yankees needed him to this season.

Gerrit Cole would be an incredible addition to the Yankees, forming a starting nucleus of James Paxton, Masahiro Tanaka and Luis Severino.  It has not been determined if or when Domingo German will return and if he does, what level his contribution will be for the 2020 rotation.  For Happ, who knows, if he will be part of the package to get Cole or if he will finish out his contract with the Yankees.  But, it is encouraging to read that he could be in the mix to get Cole and that the Yankees will do what it takes to ensure he falls back in love with the team he rooted for as a kid.

--Suzie Pinstripe
BYB Managing Editor
Twitter: @suzieprof