How Yankees’ J.A. Happ is recovering from hand, mouth and foot disease

Yankees left-hander J.A. Happ was away from his team for Wednesday’s game against the Baltimore Orioles.

NEW YORK — Yankee Stadium was off limits Wednesday for Yankees left-hander J.A. Happ because hand, mouth and foot disease is contagious.

So while the Yankees were thinking about sweeping a two-game series against the Baltimore Orioles, the newly acquired pitcher was at a New York City hotel waiting and hoping for a quick recovery that will allow him to make his scheduled start against the Boston Red Sox on Saturday afternoon at Fenway Park.

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The Yankees are optimistic.

“I spoke with him this morning,” manager Aaron Boone said in his pre-game presser. “He was feeling a little bit better this morning. He’s scheduled to see a doctor later today, so we’ll keep evaluating him every 12 to 24 hours.

“I’m still optimistic that he’ll be able to pitch Saturday for us, but I think that will be a lot more clear over the next 24 hours.”

An American League All-Star this year, Happ was traded by the Toronto Blue Jays to the Yankees last Thursday for infielder Brandon Drury and Triple-A outfielder Billy McKinney.

Happ fared well in his Yankees debut last Sunday, allowing one run over six innings in a 6-2 home win over the Kansas City Royals, but his virus was discovered on Tuesday and he immediately was sent home.

A day later, Happ was hopeful that he was on the road to recovery and tentatively scheduled to travel to Boston on Thursday or Friday.

If Happ needs to miss a start, his turn will be taken by Triple-A starter Luis Cessa or newcomer Lance Lynn, a righty starter who was acquired from the Minnesota Twins on Monday night to be a long reliever/spot starter.

Lynn joined the Yankees on Wednesday morning and was added to the roster. The Yankees freed up a spot for him after Tuesday’s game by optioning left-hander Ryan Bollinger, who was called up from Double-A Trenton for one day.

For now though, Happ still is a go for Saturday.

“He sounded good this morning,” Boone said. “He’s hoping (the virus) kind of peaked last night, but we’ll let the doctor examine him and see where he’s at. We’ve got to see how this thing plays out over the next 24 hours.”

Randy Miller may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @RandyJMiller. Find NJ.com on Facebook.