J.A. Happ finds right fit with Minnesota Twins

When J.A. Happ was looking for a new team this offseason, he wanted to land somewhere family-friendly where he could play for a contender.

The St. Bede graduate feels he found that and more with the Minnesota Twins, and Happ signed a one-year, $8 million deal with the team.

“You go over the list of priorities when trying to find a place that will fit,” said Happ, a 14-year MLB veteran who was with the New York Yankees in 2020. “You worry about how the family will adapt, then you want to have a chance to contend and go to the playoffs. I look at those two things first. After talking to some other players and staff members about the Twins, I heard only good things about how they treat families. Then you look at what they’ve done the last several years going to the playoffs and having a really good team. That makes for a very enticing place to be.

“With those things as the main focus, and the Twins having checked those boxes plus having the chance to get back to the Midwest, jumping to a new division and seeing some new challenges, I see a lot of excitement with this team. I thought it would be a really good fit.”

Happ will play in the American League Central Division for the first time, giving him the opportunity to play 10 games in the 2021 season in Chicago against the White Sox. The Twins also will play the Cubs in a two-game set at Wrigley Field on Sept. 21-22.

“Before I was playing those guys (in the AL Central) two times a year, so I got a little taste of that,” Happ said. “Switching divisions, the travel will be a little different and you get to see different cities more often. Being a little closer to home as well helps. It will be interesting. There are definitely some challenges ahead.”

Happ said he received plenty of interest on the free-agent market. He was 2-2 with a 3.47 ERA in nine starts last season.

For his career, Happ is 123-92 with a 3.98 ERA in 298 starts.

“We were happy with the interest that was shown, for sure,” Happ said. “When it came down to it, this team checked the most boxes as we got down the road with teams and what everyone was willing to do. This was a different free-agency, for sure, as far as what the landscape looked like, but I’m definitely excited to have landed where I did.”

Happ said based on the market, the one-year deal was a good option.

“When you go in, you kind of have to judge the market and see what might be out there,” Happ said. “You’re always looking for a longer deal if it’s there, but we felt given the landscape we’re in, it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world to be back out there next year as well. We weighed what that would look like to look for multiple years against finding a team that was a really good fit right now. We decided to go this route.”