Pirates Acquire Dragmire from Blue Jays For Cash

The Pittsburgh Pirates announced today that they have acquired minor league right handed pitcher Brady Dragmire from the Toronto Blue Jays for cash. In a subsequent move, they have also designated right handed reliever Phil Coke for assignment.

The Pittsburgh Pirates and Toronto Blue Jays have completed a deal today that sent minor league right handed pitcher Brady Dragmire to the Pirates in exchange for cash. Dragmire will be a depth piece for the Pirates to use down in there minor league system as a result of many of their young stars making it to the major league level.

Dragmire spent his first full season with Toronto's double A affiliate the New Hampshire Fisher Cats and came out with a record of 4-6 with a 4.38 ERA while striking out 41 and walking 28 in 72 innings of work. He appeared in 45 games for the Fisher Cats all out of the bullpen. Last season marked Dragmire's sixth year in the Blue Jays Organization with no chances of moving up.

Dragmire's ERA was very good back prior to 2014 where he had three straight years of a sub 2.50 ERA from 2012-2014. However, the last two seasons have not been too kind to him as he has had ERAs of 5.26 and 4.38 respectively. His strikeout numbers are not that great either as he has a K/9 ratio of 5.13, league average is up around 7.

One alarming stat on Dragmire's stat sheet is the number of home runs he gave up last season. In 72 innings of work he gave up 10 home runs to opposing batters. The long ball is something that cannot be defended so Dragmire is going to have to work to keep the ball in the yard. These home run numbers could be helped out by a deep left field at People's Natural Gas Field, Home field for the Altoona Curve, that goes out to 365 feet in the notch.

A positive on Dragmire's stat sheet is the fact that he has been able to keep his walk numbers low throughout his career. From 2012-2014, Dragmire was able to keep his walks in the single digits with his best year in 2014 where he walked nine batters in 77.1 innings of work. This is a positive that both Ray Searage and Double A pitching coach Justin Meccage can work with.

In a subsequent move, the Pirates also designated right handed reliever Phil Coke for assignment. The 34 year old was acquired from the New York Yankees back on September 22nd and appeared in three games for the Pirates not giving up a run in four innings of work while striking out three and walking three. Coke spent a total of six games in the majors this season and did not pan out for either the Yankees or the Pirates.

This move was strictly a move for pitching depth in 2017. The Pirates did not have to give up anything for a middle of the road pitcher who they have a chance to develop in their system. Justin Meccage, the Pitching coach at double A Altoona, has worked with top prospects like Tyler Glasnow, Jameson Taillon, and Chad Kuhl. He along with Ray Searage will try to work their magic to turn Dragmire into the next great young Pirates pitching talent.

Closers Role In Question for 2017

After trading away Mark Melancon to the Washington Nationals at the 2016 MLB Trade Deadline the Pirates Closer role has not been the same. The Pirates have some internal options, but there is no one proven to be able to step in and do the job effectively night in and night out.

One thing the Pittsburgh Pirates have had secured on their team over the last couple years is a dynamite closer at the end of the ball game. Ever since Matt Capps took over the role before the 2007 season there has always been someone reliable for the ninth inning. In that time we have seen Octavio Dotel, Joel Hanrahan, and Mark Melancon occupy that role.

Those four closer combined to save 293 games in 333 chances. That's an 88% save rate over the last 10 seasons. Melancon set the the all-time saves record in a season for the Pirates with his 51 saves during the 2015 season. However, Melancon is gone and the Pirates are dealing with an issue they haven't had to worry about in a long time and thats inconsistency at the back end of the bullpen.

The current closer listed on the Pirates depth chart is left-hander Tony Watson. Watson was lights out in the eighth inning role when he was setting up for Melancon, but the transition to the closer's role has not been too kind to him. He saved just 15 out of the 20 games he came in for and in the month of September, when he really started seeing time in the ninth inning, his ERA hiked up to 5.06 in that month. Watson may have been a great set-up man for Pittsburgh, but unfortunately I think that is where he will have to stay in order to be successful.

The other closing option the Pirates have on their roster is the man they acquired for Melancon in Felipe Rivero. However, since joining the Pirates, Rivero has struggled going 1-3 with an ERA of 3.29. One positive I see in Rivero is his ability to pump the fastball in there at 95 plus. His strikeout rate is good as he struck out 38 batters in 27.1 innings of work, but he also walked 18 batters in that same amount of innings. Another problem with Rivero again is the little experience at the position. He has been given three save opportunities as a big leaguer and has blown all three of them.

Looking at the free agent poll for 2017, there are plenty of veteran relievers on the market who would fit well in the Pirates ninth inning role. With what projects to be a young Pirates rotation in 2017, they will have to have that reliable back end who can come in and record the outs when the team needs them the most to help seal victories.

The first name that jumps out to me is a familiar one to most Pirates fans in Melancon himself. Melancon will be a free agent once the Washington Nationals finish their playoff run, and the Pirates have an opportunity to bring him back. Melancon continued the success he saw in Pittsburgh after leaving going 1-1 with a 1.82 ERA including saving 17 out of 18 games for the Nationals, that one blown save came against the Pirates ironically.

As mentioned before, Melancon does hold the record for the most saves in a single season for any Pirates player in history. He found his grove when he came to the Pirates in 2014 and never looked back even coining the term "Mark the Shark." In his career with Pittsburgh, his ERA was under 2.00 in every season accept 2015, when it was 2.23. He strikes out a decent number of batters and has proven his worth over the last few seasons with Pittsburgh. Many fans were sad to see him go at the deadline, but sometimes that is the nature of the baseball business.

Another name on the free agent market that sticks out to me is veteran closer Brad Ziegler. Ziegler spent the 2016 season with both the Boston Red Sox and the Arizona Diamondbacks and went a combined 4-7 with a 2.25 ERA including 22 saves in 28 chances while striking out 58 and walking 26 in 68 innings of work.

Ziegler has been a guy targeted at the trade deadline by the Pirates over the last several seasons, but a deal was never reached between the Pirates and Diamondbacks. Ziegler is a veteran presence who has proven experience as a closer throughout his major league career. He has saved 85 of his 115 save opportunities throughout his career, a 73% clip. If pitching coach Ray Searage gets his hands on Ziegler, I feel he could be one of the most dominant closers in all of baseball.

No matter who the Pirates chose to go with as their closer for 2017 one thing is for sure, they will have to be reliable. With a young starting rotation the bullpen will be taxed more than it has been in recent years and the Pirates need a guy who will be able to step in and get the save when he is needed. I have high hopes for the Pirates in 2017 and it all starts with the back end of the bullpen saving games and raising the Jolly Roger.

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.

No Postseason Allowing Young Bucs to Shine

The Pittsburgh Pirates three year playoff streak has come to an end here in 2016 as they are mathematically out of the race. However, Young Bucs have gotten a chance to show what they can do and give a glimpse of what the future holds for the Pirates organization.

The Pittsburgh Pirates could not harness their success of the last three seasons in 2016 and as a result there will be no Buctober coming to Pittsburgh this year. For many fans, this means that the season is a complete bust. While the Pirates have definitely not met their expectations from the beginning of the season, there is still room to celebrate as the season winds down. Many of the young Pittsburgh Pirates stars have come up  and performed rather well at the major league level.

During the 2016 season we have seen the debut of many young players including Jameson Taillon, Tyler Glasnow, Adam Frazier, and Josh Bell among many others. Many of these young players have not only been playing at the major league level, but doing so at a very high level. These young guns have provided some big moments this season and will look to do that in the many seasons to come of Pittsburgh Pirates baseball.

The 2016 Pirates rotation was one full of injury and un-reached potential. Gerrit Cole was on and off the disabled list all season long and guys like Francisco Liriano and Jeff Locke failed to pitch up to their potential. And, as the saying goes, You live and you die by your pitching and the Pirates certainly went down with their struggling rotation this season.

There is room for some optimism as we look ahead to the 2017 season, however. Both of Pittsburgh's top pitching prospects, Taillon and Glasnow, made their debuts this season and have shown bright spots. Taillon has come up with great poise this season and has pitched to a 4-5 record with a 3.38 ERA while striking out 85 and walking 17 in 104 innings of work. He has shown poise on the mound and has a work-man like mentality that is going to serve the Pirates well in the future.

Glasnow, while having some struggles early on, was moved to the bullpen and showed some key adjustments there that helped him in his last start of the season yesterday against the St. Louis Cardinals. He finished his season with a record of 0-2 and a 4.24 ERA while striking out 24 and walking 13 in 23.1 innings of work. He had a strong start to finish his season yesterday going 5.0 innings giving up one run on one hit while striking out four and walking four.

Other pitching prospects that showed what they have in 2016 included Chad Kuhl and Steven Brault. If you mentioned these two names a year ago, not many people would know who you were talking about. However, Kuhl delivered one of the most electrifying pitching debuts during a Sunday night game where he defeated Clayton Kershaw and lead the Pirates to victory. Brault was used more in a spot starter role with some bullpen appearances and provided quality innings for the Pirates. Kuhl would finish 5-4 with a 4.20 ERA while Brault went 0-3 with a 4.86.

Having these four young pitchers grow one year older over the off-season is going to create some major competition for next year's rotation. If the Pirates were to stay completely put this off-season, their pitching competition next year would have Cole, Taillon, Glasnow, Brault, Locke, Drew Hutchinson, and Wade LeBlanc. There are also rumors going around that the Pirates are trying to bring back Ivan Nova for next year. You can never have too much pitching, and I feel the Pirates are in a good place in that department going into this off-season.

The young pitchers weren't the only ones to shine this season, as we saw some of the top position player prospects debut for the Pirates as well. Guys like Josh Bell, Adam Frazier and Alan Hanson got shots at the major league level. Some were looked upon to play key roles in the Pirates future and they showed that they could do just that for years to come.

Pirates highest ranked first base prospect Josh Bell got the call to the major leagues on July 8th against the Chicago Cubs and did not waist much time making his presence felt. On July 9th he would hit a pinch hit grand slam that helped lift the Pirates over the cubs by the score of 12-6. Bell's first major league home run came through in a big way and showed he was here and ready. Bell would end up hitting .273 with three home runs and 19 RBI in 2016.

A pair of middle infielders also made their debuts in 2016 and helped to sure up some defensive problems up the middle. Adam Frazier got more of the playing time and performed well  hitting .298 with two home runs 11 RBI. Frazier came up in the middle of June and has provided clutch hitting and good defense from the middle infield position. Alan Hanson also made hit MLB debut in September and in limited action has hit .259 with no home runs and one RBI.

Hanson has been the expected shortstop of the future for this team, but has been stopped by offensive short comings the last couple of seasons. Fraizer was another one of those surprise prospects who came up and produced very well for the Pirates. The young core for Pittsburgh is here and they are ready to take the league by storm.

The Pirates are a small market team meaning they can't spend the money that the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox do, but they have the ability to build from within and get better that way. It may be frustrating sometimes as a fan, however, the patience will pay off when the Pirates make that next leap and go deep into the MLB playoffs.

Pirates Ship Liriano, Two Prospects to Toronto For Hutchison

The Pittsburgh Pirates Rounded out their day of weeling and dealing by completing a deal with the Toronto Blue Jays that sent left-hander Francisco Liriano, Catcher Reese McGuire, and Outfielder Herold Ramirez to the Blue Jays in exchange for right hander Drew Hutchison.

The Pittsburgh Pirates capped off their trade deadline day by completing a deal that has me scratching my head. I liked the pick up of Ivan Nova from the Yankees and I understood the trade for Antonio Bastardo, but this trade just leaves me wondering what in the world Neil Huntington was thinking. The Pirates currently sit in the middle of the pack in the National League just four games out of the wild card race. So, your not really looking to buy big and your also not trying to sell out the team. This move, however, puzzled me greatly.

The Pirates sent left handed starting pitcher Francisco Liriano, Double A outfielder Herold Ramirez, and Double A catcher Reese McGuire to the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for right handed starting pitcher Drew Hutchison. Liriano had struggled his last time out against the Milwaukee Brewers and the change of scenery might help him get back on track.

Drew Hutchison only played three games with the Toronto Blue Jays this season where he had a record of 1-0 and a 4.97 ERA in two starts and three games total for the Blue Jays. He struck out 12 and walked four batters through 12.2 innings pitched this season. The 15th round pick of the Blue Jays in 2009 has pitched a total of four seasons in the big leagues and to this point has had little success.

His career was highlighted by a 2015 campaign that saw him go 13-5 with a 5.57 ERA in 30 games, 28 starts, for the Blue Jays while while striking out 129 and walking 44 in 150.1 innings of work. He has spent two full years as part of the Blue Jays rotation back in the 2015 and 2014 campaigns and has a career record of 30-21 with a 4.92 ERA.

With Huctchison, you get a young right handed pitcher who is under team control for several years and could develop into a good starting pitcher for the Pirates. Hutchison only appeared in three games for the Blue Jays this season and was optioned down to Triple A earlier in the year where he posted a record of 6-5 with a 3.25 ERA.

With Hutchison one thing that worries me is his high ERA. Over the course of his four year MLB career he has never had an ERA below 4.48 and that was back in the 2014 season. If he wants to be successful at the major league level, he is going to have to work on lowering that ERA. We have talked about it time and time again the Pirates love reclamation projects in terms of pitching. Ray Searage, one of the best pitching coaches in all of major league baseball, will have his work cut out for him as he tries to bring Hutchison to an elite level.

If you're going to look at positives in terms of Hutchison, the big one is he is still young and developing. At age 26 he is still under team control for the next four seasons by the Pirates and if he stays in Triple A until August 30th they will have another year of control for Hutchison. The young right hander will go down to Triple A and have time to develop before coming up to the Pirates in September with the September call-ups.

I wouldn't have as much of a problem with this deal if the Pirates had not given up so much to get Hutchison. Liriano was struggling so that part of it didnt bother me as much. Liriano had a record of 6-11 with a 5.46 ERA striking out 116 and walking 69 in 113.2 innings pitched for the Pirates this season.

Liriano's walk numbers were up this season and he looked really bad in yesterday's start against the Milwaukee Brewers where he only went 5.0 innings in the game giving up four runs on six hits while walking three and striking out seven. Liriano had some bright spots throughout the course of the season but has not been the Liriano he was in the 2014/2015 campaigns for the Pirates. He is signed through 2017 with the Blue Jays and will be a free agent in the 2018 season.

If the trade stopped there it would have been a great move for the Pirates, however, the Pirates gave up two other players both in their top 10 prospect list when they gave up their number nine ranked prospect in outfielder Herold Ramirez and their number eight rated prospect catcher Reese McGuire. Both were going to be staples in the Pittsburgh Pirates future.

Ramirez was currently in double A with the Pirates where he was hitting .299 in double A with two home runs and 49 RBI. Ramirez was the top prospect outfielder in the Pirates organization and was two  years away from time in the major leagues. Reese McGuire was in double A as well and was hitting .259 with one home runs and 37 RBI on the season.

This deal is one that I dont really like at all. I was good when I heard it was Hutchison for Liriano, but when I head that McGurie and Ramirez were involved that is when I got frustrated. They gave up two of their top pieces for the future for a guy who has not had any proven success in the major leagues. This deal opened up some salary room for the Pirates that will hopefully be used in the off-season to grab a bigger piece.

Only time will tell if Hutchison ever pans out for the Pirates and hopefully for their sake he will. The Pirates projected rotation now looks like this:

Gerrit Cole

Ivan Nova

Jameson Taillon

Juan Nicasio

Jeff Locke

With Nova due to be a free agent after 2017, Hutchison could be the replacement option for Nova if he walks in free agency. This move has me scratching my head now but only time will tell whether or not this deal will work in the Pirates favor. We will just have to trust in Neil Huntington and hope his plan works out for the best. 

Pirates Bring Back Bastardo To Help Bullpen

The Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Mets completed a dealt that brough back relief pitcher Antonio Bastardo to the Pirates and sent reliever Jonathan Niese back to the Mets. Bastardo pitched for the Pirates out of the bullpen last season helping them reach the wild card game for the third year in a row.

The Pittsburgh Pirates were put right in the middle of the pack going into today's trade deadline. They currently sit four games out of the second National League wild card race and 9.5 games back of the Chicago Cubs for first place in the NL Central. So, the Pirates had to plan for the future, but didn't want to throw away the 2016 season in the process. As a result, we saw a lot of low profile moves that help the team both now and in the long run.

In their second deal of the afternoon, the team sent left-hander Jon Niese back to the New York Mets in exchange for another familiar face as they got left-hander Antonio Bastardo. With the Pirates having lost their closer Mark Melancon in a deal to the Washington Nationals, the Pirates needed some more proven bullpen help to finish this season. Bastardo pitched for Pittsburgh last season and was effective out of the bullpen.

This season for the Mets, Bastardo is 0-0 with a 4.74 ERA collecting 46 strikeouts in 43.2 innings of work out of the bullpen. Last season for the Pirates, Bastardo went 4-1 with a 2.98 ERA and was very effective striking out 64 in 57.1 innings worked. The move gives the Pirates now three left handed options out of their bullpen in Bastardo, closer Tony Watson, and newly acquired reliever Felipe Rivero.

Bastardo is very good at striking out batters and has been throughout his major league career. He has a K/9 ratio of 9.48 and this season is averaging to strike out 1.06 batters every inning. This is something the Pirates desperately need out of the bullpen. Currently, the only guy in the bullpen with more strikeouts then innings pitched is set-up man Neftali Feliz who has 47 in 40.0 innings of work. Now you throw Bastardo into the mix and it gives you another reliever with strikeout ability to come into a big spot and get that punch out when it is needed.

Another plus with Bastardo is that he is signed through the 2017 season, so he will be back next year to help anchor this Pirates bullpen. With the trade of Melancon, the Pirates will be looking for a full-time closer for 2017 and Bastardo could step-in and bring some closing experience to the Pirates as he was the closer for the Philledelphia Phillies back in 2011 when he converted eight of nine save chances and could offer some competition for Tony Watson.

In return, the New York Mets reacquire left-hander Jon Niese for their bullpen. For the Pirates on the year, Niese had a record of 8-6 with a 4.91 ERA in 110 innings of work between the starting rotation and the bullpen. The Pirates acquired Niese from the New York Mets last off-season in a trade that sent Neil Walker to the New York Mets.

Niese had started the year in the Pirates rotation and got off to a good start leading the Pirates in wins at one point with a record of 5-2 on the season, but his ERA was a problem as it sat at 5.08. This consistently high ERA would later effect him and caused him to have a very bad month of June in which he went 1-4 with a 6.21 ERA,

This lead to a demotion to the Pirates bullpen, and Niese accepted the demotion and actually has been pretty good in that role for the Pirates. In five games out of the bullpen, Niese had a record of 1-0 and a 2.25 ERA in eight innings pitched. He would be the pitcher who picked up the win in the 18 inning game against the Washington Nationals when he threw three scoreless innings allowing just three hits in the game.

Bastardo should help bolster this already good Pirates bullpen as the season moves on. The key to this deal for me is that the Pirates have a proven, reliable arm in the bullpen next season that can compliment guys like Tony Watson and A.J. Schugel. One thing that has remained consistent over the years for the Pirates is the quality of their bullpen. With the addition of Bastardo, that trend looks to continue here in 2016 and through 2017.

Bucs Add Nova To Help Bolster Rotation

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.