J.A. Happ, the left-hander whose arrival bolstered the starting rotation in the second half of the 2015 season, will not return to the Pirates. He signed a three-year, $36 million contract with the Toronto Blue Jays Friday.
Happ, 33, went 7-2 with a 1.85 ERA after joining the Pirates at the trade deadline from the Seattle Mariners. He became a free agent after the season and the Pirates were attempting to re-sign him.
Happ pitched for the Blue Jays, who reached the ALCS this past season before losing to the eventual World Series champion Kansas City Royals, for parts of three seasons, from 2012-14.