The Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Yankees completed a deal today that will bring right handed pitcher Ivan Nova to the Pirates in exchange for a player to be named later. Nova will step in and try to help a Pirates rotation that has been struggling and hampered by injury as of late.
The Major League baseball non-waiver trade deadline is always a fun time of year. You get to watch some of the best players in major league baseball find new homes, and watch contending teams scrambling to make moves in order to bolster themselves for a playoff race. The Pittsburgh Pirates entered the trade deadline in that awkward middle of the pack status where they are not mathematically out of the race yet, but would need a lot of help to get back into the picture.
The Pirates were rather quiet leading up to the trade deadline with the only major move sending closer Mark Melancon to the Washington Nationals for reliever Felipe Rivero and minor league pitcher Taylor Hearn. Well the Pirates were active today making a trio of moves to both dump some salary and bolster the team for the future.
In a move that was announced just after the 4:00 p.m. eastern trade deadline, the Pirates acquired right handed starting pitcher Ivan Nova from the New York Yankees for a player to be named later. Nova had been struggling a bit for the Yankees on the season where he had a 4.56 ERA, but this move makes a lot of sense as the Pirates needed starting pitching and went out and got a quality guy who can be inserted into the middle of the Pirates rotation.
This season with the New York Yankees, Nova had a record of 7-6 with a 4.90 ERA in 21 games, 15 starts, with the Yankees while striking out 75 batters in 97.1 innings pitched. Nova is currently in his seventh season, all spent with the Yankees, and has a career record of 53-39 with a 4.31 ERA in 729c career innings pitched. Nova projects to be the Pirates number two or three starter after the moves that were made today.
Nova has had very good control numbers over the course of his career as he has never walked more than 56 batters in a season. That's a plus for Nova as he will get the opportunity now to work with Ray Searage, one of the best hitting coaches in the MLB, to try and help him with the amount of hits he gives up. Nova has bounced in and out of the Yankees rotation this season, and now he can find a permanent home in the Pirates starting rotation.
Nova struggled early in the season for the Yankees, but has since picked things up following the all-star break where he has a 1-1 record and a 3.36 ERA in three starts. He has picked himself up nicely after posting a 5.08 ERA in the first half and looks to be on the rise as the season goes on.
A plus with Nova is he does not allow many home runs, a plus in PNC Park with the short porch in left. He has only given up nine home runs to left handed hitters and has a HR/9 stat of 1.76. If he is able to keep the ball in the yard and trust the Pirates great outfield defense he can have success with the Pirates.
Nova features a four pitch arsenal with a fastball that he can throw in the mid 90's, a curveball, a change up, and a slider. He can throw all four pitches for strikes and does a good job of changing speeds. The Pirates have had success revamping pitchers into great starting pitchers and they will try to do that with Nova.
The big problem I see with Nova is the amount of hits he gives up on the mound. This season through 97.1 innings pitched he gave up 107 hits to this point. This has been Nova's main problem this season is once he gives up one hit it seems like innings snowball on him. This could improve as he goes from a Yankeed team ranked 13th in the league in defense to the Pirates who are rank eighth in the league in terms of defense.
Overall, I like this move a lot. The Pirates get a young starting pitcher who is signable after the season. Nova is currently making 4.1 million on this contract and the Pirates could bring him back next season to help anchor what looks to be a young Pittsburgh Pirates rotation. We still have to wait for the player to be named later, but for right now this deal is one I'm very excited about.
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