NEW YORK -- J.A. Happ tried as best he could to avoid the rumors that marred his final weeks in a Blue Jays uniform. Despite his best efforts, that proved to be almost impossible.
Text messages from friends, interview requests from both sides of the border, people seeing him out in the community, there were reminders everywhere. Even for a guy who tried to isolate himself from the outside baseball world was presented with the reality of his situation on a daily basis. He couldn't avoid it.
That's why, more than any other reason, Happ could not help but feel a sense of relief when the Blue Jays finally traded him to the Yankees on July 26 for infielder Brandon Drury and outfielder Billy McKinney. This wasn't necessarily how Happ envisioned his time in Toronto coming to an end, but once it became inevitable, Happ embraced the end of the long, drawn-out process.
"I think there was a little bit," Happ said when asked whether he felt a sense of relief when the trade became official. "If I had to guess, I thought that I would probably go somewhere. I just didn't know where it was going to be.
"The questions, as you get closer, they keep coming and keep coming. You just get used to saying the same thing, 'We'll wait and see.' We finally saw, and then you try to move forward and try to take advantage of the opportunity you have, and that's kind of my goal now."
Two days after the deal was announced, Happ bid an emotional farewell to the fans by releasing a lengthy letter on the Blue Jays' social-media platforms. The decision to reach out to the fan base was his, and his alone, and it came as a spur-of-the-moment feeling when Happ was traveling to meet his new teammates.

Among the things Happ wrote in that letter was that one of his goals when he signed before the 2016 season was to "win over the Blue Jays fans. I would like to think I did, but I know for sure that they made me fall in love with them much more."
It was a classy tribute and one that he said was motivated by all of the text messages and notes he was receiving from the Blue Jays family who were wishing him the best of luck in pinstripes and thanking him for all of the memories in Toronto.
"I had some time on the plane, and I was just thinking about all the messages I was getting and seeing some messages that people left and wrote and I felt like I needed to say something to show my appreciation," Happ said. "So I wrote that on my phone, just some stuff from the heart about how I felt. I wanted to let the fans and the organization know."
As for the new Yankees surroundings, Happ admitted that he is excited about joining a contending team and getting back to the postseason for the first time in a couple of years. In 2009, he saw firsthand what it was like to experience Yankee Stadium in October when the Phillies and Yankees squared off in the World Series, and he's hoping for a similar experience while playing for one of his former divisional rivals.
Before any of that can happen, though, Happ will first have to face his former teammates when he takes the mound on Sunday afternoon at Yankee Stadium.
"I think it will be, to an extent," Happ said when asked whether it will be a weird or awkward experience. "I spent a lot of time [there] and have a lot of respect for those guys and I feel like I have some good friendships over there.
"That part is always a little strange, especially so soon. It's only been a couple of weeks. Hopefully it will be one of those things where the anxiety will be there before the game, and once you start getting into it you're just competing."
Maile to paternity list
Blue Jays catcher Luke Maile was placed on the paternity list on Friday afternoon. McKinney was recalled from Triple-A Buffalo to take his spot on the 25-man roster.
The short-term departure of Maile means that Russell Martin will return to his traditional catching position while splitting time with recently called-up rookie Danny Jansen. Martin played third base during Toronto's recent four-game series vs. Kansas City as Maile and Jansen split time behind the plate.
"He'll be in there tomorrow," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said in reference to starting McKinney somewhere in the outfield for the second game of this series.