Yankees pitcher diagnosed with hand, foot, and mouth disease just days after being traded to the team
- Yankees pitcher J.A. Happ was diagnosed with hand, foot, and mouth disease just days after being traded to the team.
- While the disease is more commonly found in children, Happ is the second New York-based pitcher to come down with the disease.
- The Yankees have a four-game series with the Red Sox this weekend, with Happ set to start on Saturday.
New York Yankees starting pitcher J.A. Happ was diagnosed with hand, foot, and mouth disease on Tuesday after being sent a local hospital, according to general manager Brian Cashman.
Happ made his first start with the Yankees on Sunday after being traded to the team from the Blue Jays last week, giving up just three hits in six innings to help his new team to a win over the Kansas City Royals.
According to the Mayo Clinic, hand, foot, and mouth disease is a mild, contagious viral infection characterized by sores in the mouth and a rash on the hands and feet. While it is more common in children, Happ is now the second New York-based pitcher to contract the disease, with Mets starter Noah Syndergaard put on the 10-day DL on July 22 after coming down with the same infection. Syndergaard is set to make his return to the mound on Wednesday.
It's unclear how Happ contracted the disease, with the Yankees' only theory being that he might have picked it up on his flight to New York after being traded to the team. "No one's really going to have an answer to it, other than just guessing," Cashman said.
Happ is scheduled to start again for the Yankees this Saturday against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway. The team hopes he'll still be ready to go for the game.
"If everything is as it is now, he probably would be able to go on Saturday. But it's to be determined," Cashman said. "So we're taking all the necessary precautions."
The Red Sox currently hold a five-game lead on the Yankees in a hotly contested race for the AL East title, and this weekend's upcoming four-game series could potentially have significant ramifications on the playoff picture.