Dave Abel/Toronto Sun[/caption]After shipping former starting pitcher Ricky Romero to the minor leagues, the Toronto Blue Jays announced Wednesday that they have signed left-hander J.A. Happ to a contract extension.
The pitcher signed a two-year deal which will pay him $8.9 million in total. Happ edged out Romero for the final starting spot on the Blue Jays roster. He’ll be paid $3.7 million this season and $5.2 million next year. The club has an option for 2015 at a cost of $6.7 million.
Happ said he was relieved that he made Toronto’s pitching rotation for the season because there was so much competition. He said he was trying as hard as he could to impress the brass during Spring Training, but still wasn’t sure if he had done enough to make the team. He added that it was a great feeling to get a call to let him know he had made it.
The 30-year-old was scheduled to make $3.7 million this year and had a year of arbitration eligibility left. The new contract basically means he’ll be guaranteed $5.2 million in 2014. Happ had a 10-11 record last season along with an ERA of 4.79. He also had 144 strikeouts, which is his career-high.
The Blue Jays acquired Happ last July in a trade with the Houston Astros. He started his career with the Philadelphia Phillies and played with them from 2007-10. He then spent two years in Houston. Happ’s six-year career record stands at 35-35 along with an ERA of 4.19.
John Gibbons, the Blue Jays manager, said with Happ in the lineup it was easier for him to send Romero down to Class-A Dunedin to work on his delivery. Happ had an excellent Spring Training as his ERA was just 1.90.
Gibbons said that Happ was superb in the Grapefruit League and nobody had a better preseason than him. He added that Happ showed a great amount of determination to make the roster and it paid off for him handsomely.
Gibbons claimed that when Spring Training began, Happ told the press that he deserved to be on the team and he definitely put his money where his mouth is by proving it on the mound. The GM said Romero struggled a little bit during the spring, but Happ won the job by himself and his experience helped him out.
He will likely get his first start of the season for the Blue Jays against the Boston Red Sox on April 6, as he’s fifth in the starting pitching rotation. The Blue Jays open the MLB season at home on Tuesday, April 2.
Happ added that he’s looking forward to the upcoming season after such a long Spring Training. He said the team and its fans can’t wait for opening day to see how all of the off-season acquisitions fit in.
Toronto hasn’t made the playoffs since winning back-to-back World Series in 1992 and 1993 and the franchise and fans are hoping this is the year they finally return to the postseason.
