The Case To Bring Back Ivan Nova

The Pittsburgh Pirates acquired New York Yankees right hander Ivan Nova to help bolster their rotation. Nova has gone on to become one of the most successful Pirates starters to end the season. Now it's time for the Pirates to step up and sign the right hander long term.

Last season, the Pirates were in need of some starting pitching help and they found it in a young left hander from Seattle named J.A. Happ. To that point in the season Happ had a record of 4-6 with a 4.64 ERA that left many fans in an outcry. However, they were all proven wrong as Happ would end up going 7-2 with a 1.85 ERA the rest of the way and was a big reason that the Pirates advanced to the playoffs.

Then the off-season hit and the Pirates were left in a bidding war for the services of Happ. They would eventually lose out as he signed with the Toronto Blue Jays to a three year 36 million dollar contract. He finished this season with a 20-4 record and a 3.18 ERA for the American League wild card contenders and is proving very well worth the money spent.

Flash forward to 2016 and the Pirates are in a similar pickle. They acquired right handed pitcher Ivan Nova from the Yankees who at the time was struggling to get by with a 7-6 record and a 4.90 ERA. However, since joining the Pirates, he has gone 5-2 with a 3.06 ERA striking out 52 and walking three in 64.2 innings of work. Their are multiple reports that the Pirates have reached out to the right hander in attempts to bring him back, however, none of those had come to fruition.

This season, the Pirates cant afford to let Nova slip out of their hands. They might have to dish out a little more money than they have in years past, but they have to find a way to get this deal done. Their are many factors that really favor this move and it would help Pittsburgh tremendously in 2017.

First of all, the Pirates are going to need some veteran leadership in a rotation that will be full of young stars in 2017. As the current roster looks right now, the only two locks for spots in the rotation are Gerrit Cole and Jameson Taillon. Other guys who will be competing for a spot include Steven Brault, Chad Kuhl, Trevor Williams, Drew Hutchinson,Tyler Glasnow, and Jeff Locke among others. the guy with the most experience in that group is Locke who has 3.25 years of MLB service time.

With Nova, you have a guy who has five years of major league experience and has proven successful in the past for the Yankees. Nova has been over a .500 winning percentage in all but one season in which he has appeared in 15 or more games, going 6-11 in the 2015 season. Nova has a plus fastball and works well off his breaking ball to get a lot of swings and misses from opposing batters.

Another thing going for Nova is he is only turning 30 years old next season, and has the opportunity to be under Pirates control for the next several seasons. Last season with Happ, you had a man entering his age 34 season who had not had a strong track record of success. Happ had only been over .500 one time prior to joining the Pirates and it was uncertain if he could duplicate his 2015 numbers.

Nova, however, has shown success in the past and the numbers certainly don't lie. He has a career 7.06 K/9 ratio and in his five seasons of action he has been over 100 strikeouts in three of those years. For a right hander at PNC Park, strikeouts are key as your facing a lot of left handed hitting and having to deal with that short porch in right field. Swings and misses are key to any pitchers game and Nova would be a welcome sight in that department.

Another thing to look at with Nova is he only had three, thats right three, walks in 64.2 innings of work. That is lights out control and its something you see throughout Nova's career. He has only walked more than 50 batters in a season twice in his career and holds a 2.73 BB/9. A pitcher with that type of control is a valuable asset for any team. The Pirates have a good defensive team and if the ball is put in play, they will more than likely get the out. For Nova, he fits right into the Pirates system and pounds the strike zone on a very consistent basis.

The Pirates rotation looks to feature many young phenoms up and down the rotation in 2017. They will need that one piece of veteran presence to help steer the club in the right direction for a full season. If the Pirates can sign Nova, the 2017 team reminds me a lot of the New York Mets from two seasons ago. They had young talents in Jacob DeGrom, Noah Syndergaard, and Matt Harvey with the veteran Bartolo Colon. Now the Mets are the defending National League Champions and are currently a 2016 wild card team.

In terms of contract negotiations, it has been released that Nova is looking for a deal somewhere in the five year 70 million dollar range. That averages out to 14 million dollars a year for the next five years. The Pirates gave Francisco Liriano 13 million a year, 3 years/39 million, prior to the 2015 season. Nova has more upside then Liriano did and the Pirates have a chance to be a special club in 2017. They have lots of young talent and a couple of wily veterans back that could lead this team to the promised land. Nova could be the chip needed to get the Pirates over the hump.