The Pittsburgh Pirates finished the 2015 season with the MLB's second-best record. However, that resulted in a loss to the Chicago Cubs in the NL Wild Card Game.
With free agency looming they have to make sure they keep impending FAs or add more starting pitching, and rumors suggest the team may look to re-sign J.A. Happ.
Happ will hit free agency on a high note. The left-hander went 7-2 with a 1.85 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 69 strikeouts in 11 starts (63 1/3 innings) after arriving in Pittsburgh at the trade deadline. That was perhaps the best stretch of his MLB career and it couldn't have come at a better time.
Rumors have already linked him to the Kansas City Royals and even the New York Yankees.
The 33-year-old will hit free agency for the first time in his career and he's expected to get paid. He'll be among perhaps the best starting pitching free agent class in recent memory, so he'll most likely be a tertiary free agent, which is an advantage for the Pirates.
FanGraphs projects Happ will sign a three-year, $33 million deal and that's something well within Pittsburgh's reach. Remember, the Pirates signed Francisco Liriano to a three-year, $39 million deal last year.
Pittsburgh has only $56.2 million committed to the 2016 payroll, but they're expected to spend $35.4 million in arbitration salaries. However, the club may look to trade Neil Walker and Pedro Alvarez - both of whom are in their final seasons of arbitration eligibility - and left-hander Jeff Locke could be non-tendered due to his inconsistent pitching. That will clear up some more space.
General manager Neal Huntington is hopeful Happ will return.
"We've had discussions about his interest in coming back," he told Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "We've expressed to him that we have interest in having him come back."
Happ's success in Pittsburgh may convince him to stay, but it all depends on what offers he receives in free agency.
"Happ could land a contract he might have only dreamed about three months ago, and one could hardly blame him for exploring the market," writes Charlie Wilmoth of MLBTradeRumors.com. "But playing in Pittsburgh, where he can continue to work with highly regarded pitching coach Ray Searage, might give him the best chance at maintaining his success. A two-year deal at about $9MM-$12MM per season might work and should be within the Pirates' price range, although Happ's market is difficult to gauge - much will depend on how much of his late-2015 success teams believe he can retain. It's possible he could receive three-year offers."
The Pirates also have pitching prospects Tyler Glasnow and Jameson Taillon. The two can possibly make an impact on the MLB roster in 2015 depending on how much more development Huntington feels they need.
However, the Pirates can't rely on that and will probably look to bolster the rotation since it's one of the few areas they'll need to address in free agency, which begins at 12:00 a.m. ET on Saturday.
