Waiting for the Happ shoes to drop

Psst. Hey you. Shhhh. Hear anything? Me neither. The coast is clear. No news today - nothing, nada, zip - on the Yankees. Just dumb features and cruddy speculation. It's quiet across the Yankiverse...

Hmm, maybe too quiet?  

Here's where I got us: This winter, the Yankees have lost Didi, CC, Romine, Dellin and the Parrot... and gained Gerrit Cole. Were it a trade, this would be a loser. Then again, if Cole repeats what he did in 2019, it will be worth it. We finally have an ace.

The Yankees have re-signed Aroldis Chapman and Gardy - a legacy move - and are shopping J.A. Happ, who looks like a one-and-done. Any day now, I expect to hear to Happ is gone.

The next "event" could be a murky deal with Milwaukee, who apparently wants to shed its 25-year-old, long-haired, formerly racist closer, Josh Hader, before he hits arbitration. We've been hearing about this for weeks. Before the winter meetings, it seemed imminent. Now, dunno.

For whatever it's worth, I question how much we should give for Hader, whose implosion in the 2019 Wild Card game - he gave three in the eighth against Washington - killed the Brewers' year. They brought him in with a 3-1 lead, hoping for a two-inning save. He never reached the ninth. You could say the Nats were a "team of destiny," and Hader was simply the first mailbox in their way. But if he could have thrown a scoreless two innings, it might be the Brewers still celebrating. 

Last year, Hader threw 75 innings - that's six more than the Yankees' heaviest  bullpen war horse, Chad Green (69). In 2018, Hader threw even more - 81 innings. By comparison, Aroldis Chapman threw 57 last year, and still looked bleached and bleary at the end.

In the three years since Hader became famous - or infamous; some old racist remarks were uncovered during the All-Star break; he apologized and said he's changed -  his ERA has risen each season. In 2017, he was unhittable: an ERA of 2.08. Last year, it was 2.62. That would have placed him fourth - 4th - in the Yankees bullpen  - behind Chapman (2.21), Adam Ottavino (1.90) and Zack Britton (1.91.) 

(I doubt it matters that Hader pitched in the NL. By the time he enters games, managers would be sending up pinch hitters.) 

In simple terms, I believe there are reasons - beyond impending arbitration - why the Brewers want to trade Hader. Of the top 10 statistical doppelgangers for Hader - at age 25 - six proved long-term disappointments: John Rocker (eerily similar), Kevin Siegrist, John Hiller, Rex Brothers, Don Carman and Alex Claudio. There are scores of closers who are killers at 22 and by 26, the mayors of Palookaville. 

Of course, any trade depends on what we give up, right? J.A. Happ would certainly be a start. From there, though, we better be careful. 

So... quiet today. That's okay. I can do quiet.