Earlier today, the Yankees announced that the team declined the 2021 option on left-handed pitcher J.A. Happ. The southpaw was slated to receive $17 million next season had the club exercised the option, or if it vested had he made ten regular-season starts in 2020.
Happ, 38, started nine games for the Bombers this year, pitching to a 3.47 ERA (4.57 FIP) across 49.1 innings. He opened the season with a pair of excruciatingly poor outings, and that led the Yankees to skip his turn in the rotation, a move Happ implied as option manipulation.