J.A. Happ has hand, foot and mouth disease, Yankees GM Brian Cashman says
Yankees starting pitcher J.A. Happ delivers a pitch against the Royals at Yankee Stadium on Sunday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
So this kind of thing doesn’t just happen to the Mets after all.
The Yankees sent J.A. Happ home on Tuesday after the pitcher was diagnosed with what Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said was a “mild case” of the Coxsackie virus, the technical term for hand, foot and mouth disease.
It is the same ailment that recently put Mets righthander Noah Syndergaard on the disabled list.
Cashman said Happ, acquired from the Blue Jays last Thursday, will not go to the DL and is still in line to make his next start, Saturday against the Red Sox at Fenway Park.
“He’s still scheduled to start, that’s not something that right now is in jeopardy yet,” Cashman said.
Still, he said, the Yankees are taking “precautions.”
One of those was limiting righthander Luis Cessa to one inning in his start Tuesday night with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, making him a possibility for Saturday if Happ can’t go. Righthander Lance Lynn, acquired from the Twins on Monday and due to arrive in New York Wednesday, also could be an option for Saturday. Lynn is 1-1 with a 1.80 ERA in five career starts against Boston, which include two games this season in which he allowed one earned run in 11 innings.
Cashman said the 35-year-old Happ, who won his Yankees’ debut on Sunday, “noticed some blistering on his hands,” and mentioned it to trainer Steve Donohue. The pitcher was sent to NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital, where he was diagnosed.
“We’ll get a better feel for where J.A. Happ is and how he’s feeling tomorrow, and what’s the course of the virus and if it’s dissipating or ramping up,” Cashman said. “The current diagnosis was a very mild case and our internist felt that if everything is as is right now, then he probably would be able to go on Saturday. But it’s a to-be determined [situation], so we’re taking the necessary precautions.”
