Skip to content

Happ: Blue Jays' success brought me back

Charles LeClaire / USA TODAY Sports

For the second time in as many weeks, the Blue Jays added to their rotation with a pitcher who was eager to return to Toronto.

J.A. Happ agreed to a three-year, $36-million deal on Friday, reuniting him with the organization he spent parts of three seasons with before a trade sent him to Seattle last December.

"We were happy there was a lot of interest. We were really happy that Toronto was being aggressive," Happ told Sportsnet 590 The Fan on Saturday. "Watching from afar, seeing what this team did last year, it's fun to watch this team, kind of made me want to come back and be a part of that."

Happ slides into the rotation alongside Marcus Stroman, R.A. Dickey, Jesse Chavez, and Marco Estrada, who agreed to a two-year, $26-million deal earlier this month, thanks in large part for his own desire to remain in Toronto.

Though the signing of Happ caught many off guard, interim general manager Tony LaCava said that the left-hander had been on the team's radar for some time.

"We identified J.A. as a priority, we had our planning meeting in early November, our group felt strong that J.A. fit what we were trying to do this offseason," LaCava said. "So, we engaged early with his agent, Dave Rogers. It was a very fair process with good dialogue back and forth, and I think we worked hard to get to the conclusion we got yesterday."

Following the likely losses of both David Price and Mark Buehrle to free agency, the Blue Jays' front office identified starting pitching as a primary concern this offseason. The tandem of LaCava and president Mark Shapiro have wasted little time addressing the area, adding Estrada, Chavez, and Happ all within the last 10 days.

"We haven't lessened our offense, which we think is elite, we haven't given up any draft picks, and we haven't traded any prospects, so we feel like we're off to a good start this offseason in terms of addressing our needs," LaCava said. "We'll continue to look for opportunities."

Daily Newsletter

Get the latest trending sports news daily in your inbox