Pittsburgh Pirates to Re-Sign Ivan Nova to Three-Year Deal

The Pittsburgh Pirates will keep Ivan Nova in their rotation, agreeing to sign the late-season star to a three-year contract.

Yesterday we heard a bit about the Pittsburgh Pirates trying to make a move for White Sox starter Jose Quintana, but it appears their next step for addressing their rotation is to retain Ivan Nova. According to Robert Murray of FanRag Sports, the Pirates and Nova have come to an agreement on a three-year, $26 million deal with a $2 million signing bonus.

The right-hander was a surprise revelation for Pittsburgh after being traded from the Yankees prior to last summer’s deadline. Over 11 starts in a Pirates uniform, Nova posted a 3.06 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and a stellar 17.33 K/BB ratio. Perhaps the most impressive feature of his post-trade performance was the fact that he walked only three batters across 64.2 innings.

Nova allowed three earned runs or fewer in nine of those 11 starts. In fact, remove those two forgettable outings (Aug. 17 at Giants and Sept. 18 at Reds) and his Pirates ERA improves to a shiny 2.18 over 57.2 frames.

No one was likely more taken aback by Nova’s late-season renaissance than the Yankees and their fans. While he had certainly shown flashes of his talent and potential since his 2010 debut, injuries (including Tommy John surgery in 2014) and inconsistency had dominated Nova in recent years. Due to turn 30 next month, it seemed like he was simply never going to pan out when the Yanks unloaded him.

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However, Pirates pitching coach Ray Searage knows a thing or two about reclamation projects. In fact, he had considerable success with another Yankees castoff in A.J. Burnett. Add names like J.A. Happ, Edinson Volquez and Francisco Liriano to the list, and it’s clear the pitching guru has a knack for getting the most out of his veterans.

Pittsburgh is banking on the hope that Searage will continue working his magic with Nova over the next few seasons. While a full year’s performance at the level he showed immediately after the trade might be too much to ask for, Nova doesn’t really need to be that guy in order for the Bucs to get their money’s worth. After a disappointing 2016, they are still counting on Gerrit Cole to come back and assert himself as the young ace of their staff. Youngsters Jameson Taillon and Tyler Glasnow are also waiting in the wings. If Nova can be a solid mid-rotation arm, he’ll have done his job.

The terms of the contract fit into the Pirates’ budget as well. Considering the poor state of this offseason’s starting pitching market, some had speculated that Nova would be overpaid on the strength of his last two months alone. Figures like $70 million over five years were even being thrown around. Evidently teams were a bit skeptical of going all-in on Nova’s late surge, as the final number is much more agreeable.

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And lest you think the re-signing of Nova removes the Pirates from the Quintana sweepstakes, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal suggests you think again: