WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH HAPP?

The end of 2019 is in sight and 2020 is knocking on our doorstep. Soon spring training will be in full swing and the chase for 28 will be back on. The question that I really want answered at this point is.....will J.A. Happ still be a Yankee?

It's deja vu all over again. This time last year it was a "wait and see" as Sonny Gray's fate had yet to be determined. We were reading for weeks and weeks about how the Yankees were actively shopping him and there was interest but all of us were anxiously waiting for resolution. We went into 2019 and Gray was still a Yankee.

And then it finally happened. In January of 2019 the Yankees and Reds finally came to an agreement and Sonny Gray was no longer a Yankee. Maybe J.A. Happ will be similar? Maybe, just maybe we just need to be a little more patient. It's hard, but hopefully it is next on Brian Cashman's checklist but we really haven't heard a lot about Happ.

On December 9th Joel Sherman said the Yankees were "actively shopping" Happ and Andy Martino on December 10th told us National League teams were interested possible the Phillies or Brewers....but since then nothing.

But Happ is not an easy sell compared to Gray. He had a 4.91 ERA last season and 37 years old. He has a 2021 vesting option for $17 million that triggers at 165 innings or 27 starts. Gray on the other hand, is 30 and is signed through 2022 and not making $17 million a year. Happ struggled through most of the season, but rebounded toward the end of the season. He's durable and effective against lefties which is selling point the Yankees will rely on to get him traded.

It's been quiet on the Happ front for a few weeks now. The Yankees are counting on trading him to help with some of the luxury tax penalty which makes sense. Hopefully after we ring in 2020 things will move faster with Happ.

Something will happen with Happ soon, I hope. We'll see how much salary the Yankees will have to cover and who else the Yankees may have to include to make it happen.

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa
BYB Managing Editor
Twitter: @nyprincessj