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Phillies Sign Ivan Nova To Minors Contract

By Mark Polishuk | January 26, 2021 at 2:57pm CDT

The Phillies have signed right-hander Ivan Nova to a minor league deal, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports (via Twitter).  Nova will earn $1.5MM if he cracks Philadelphia’s active roster.

The signing reunites Nova with Joe Girardi, who managed the righty over Nova’s seven seasons with the Yankees.  Nova delivered some solid results in New York’s rotation (albeit missing large parts of the 2014-15 seasons due to Tommy John surgery) before being dealt to the Pirates at the 2016 trade deadline.  Nova pitched for the Bucs through the 2018 campaign, before moving on to the White Sox in 2019 and the Tigers in 2020.

Never a hard thrower or a big strikeout pitcher (career 16.7 K%), Nova has relied on durability and a lot of ground balls as his calling card over 11 Major League seasons.  However, Nova’s performance took a drastic dropoff last season, with an 8.53 ERA over the admittedly small sample size of 19 innings in Detroit’s rotation.  Nova did allow four home runs in that brief stint, and issued as many walks (nine) as strikeouts.

Nova averaged 174 innings per season from 2016-19, returning from his TJ surgery with seemingly no loss of his former durability.  If the 34-year-old has anything left in the tank, the Phillies could use Nova as an innings-eater at the back of their rotation, or as the first line of defense if any of their projected five starters suffers an injury or needs to be rested to rebuild arm strength.  The Phils also signed Bryan Mitchell to a minor league deal earlier today, a former Nova teammate under Girardi in the Bronx.

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Ivan Nova Philadelphia Phillies Transactions

Braves Sign Ehire Adrianza To Minors Contract
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Tigers To Sign Derek Holland
45 comments
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Comments

  1. Eatdust666

    1 month ago

    Lmao

    Like
    Reply
    • birdsfan415

      1 month ago

      this was my exact reaction too haha

      Like
      Reply
    • Francys01

      1 month ago

      This is a good pickup, hopefully he can pitch well in Philadelphia.

      1 Like
      Reply
      • cwsAscension

        1 month ago

        If you want to lose it’s a good pickup.

        1 Like
        Reply
        • YourDreamGM

          1 month ago

          Rather had Sanchez

          Like
          Reply
        • David Kupsick

          1 month ago

          Dombrowski may still sign Anibal…

          Like
          Reply
  2. bucketbrew35

    1 month ago

    Keep em coming. We need a ton of depth.

    Like
    Reply
  3. BPFlyers

    1 month ago

    Life is just a fantasy…

    Like
    Reply
    • mlbnyyfan

      1 month ago

      Phillies really got the rest of the division scared now.

      1 Like
      Reply
  4. DodgerOK

    1 month ago

    No harm in trying.

    1 Like
    Reply
  5. driftcat28

    1 month ago

    Another former Yankee for Girardi

    Like
    Reply
  6. @budselig6969

    1 month ago

    What’s with the smutty advertising on this site?

    Like
    Reply
    • Pax vobiscum

      1 month ago

      I thought it was just me.

      Like
      Reply
  7. Luc 2

    1 month ago

    As a Nats fan im scared Ivan Nova has ace caliber stuff

    Like
    Reply
    • tigerfan4ever

      1 month ago

      Don’t worry, he doesn’t.

      Like
      Reply
  8. burn0820

    1 month ago

    Should fit in nicely into that mediocre rotation

    Like
    Reply
  9. C-Daddy

    1 month ago

    He’ll make a great battery with JT.

    1 Like
    Reply
  10. Pax vobiscum

    1 month ago

    This is a who cares depth signing. I expect Didi to sign next.

    Like
    Reply
  11. DarkSide830

    1 month ago

    not a huge Nova fan, but hey, maybe he works out and we have a cheap #5 (though gotta wonder how close we are going to be to the tax, see Francisco Liriano)

    1 Like
    Reply
  12. fffbbb

    1 month ago

    Never a reason to complain about minor deal. He can’t be worse than the other options and when he sucks no loss.

    Like
    Reply
  13. philsphan1979

    1 month ago

    I just don’t understand how they continue to just sign these dinosaur pitchers, like there going to catch lighting in a bottle. All that money they spent on these Crappy players, they could of spent into some actual talent

    Like
    Reply
    • DarkSide830

      1 month ago

      Minor deals are as cheap as they come and every team signs about a dozen guys to fill out the AAA roster or to try out in the Spring. I can assure you that there will be many worse players signed to such deals.

      1 Like
      Reply
      • lolmetsforever

        1 month ago

        I can assure you that you comment far too often. Thanks for that astute observation.

        Like
        Reply
  14. Very Barry

    1 month ago

    Ivan Nova? LMAO …. Funny thing is that the rotation is so bad he does have a shot to get a shot. LMAO. Did they get beat by the Tigers to sign Derek Holland? LMAO. But hey …. they signed Realmuto! LMAO

    Like
    Reply
    • raef715

      1 month ago

      slight overuse of LMAO IMHO.

      5 Like
      Reply
  15. RobM

    1 month ago

    Girardi is reassembling his former teams from NY. While I question this strategy, I’m fairly confident that if he can get Mariano Rivera to come out of retirement he’d still be the best reliever in the Phillies pen.

    2 Like
    Reply
  16. IronBallsMcGinty

    1 month ago

    Why not gamble on someone younger like Carlos Rodon?

    Like
    Reply
    • lolmetsforever

      1 month ago

      That’s a very sexist thing to say.

      Like
      Reply
  17. George hubschman, roto imbeciles

    1 month ago

    Never been a big Ivan Nova fan but he did turn in a 16-4 season with the Yankees a lifetime ago (2011). And it came with the expected bad peripherals that a guy like Nova brings to the table. But on a minor league deal and the $1.5M payday if he even makes the Phillies, I can live with it. I just wonder if the Phillies will be able to live through this?

    Like
    Reply
  18. YourDreamGM

    1 month ago

    No upside here. Best case a innings eater with a 4 something era

    Like
    Reply
    • htbnm57

      1 month ago

      Which is pretty much what a 4th or 5th starter does…. if he doesn’t no big deal as Velasquez rarely got out of the 5th inning…

      Like
      Reply
  19. Ducky Buckin Fent

    1 month ago

    Uh.

    Easy signing to kind of poke fun of. But, Ivan Nova will definitely take the ball every fifth day & generally keep you in the game for 5 innings, or so. There’s more than a little to be said for that.

    I don’t care for all the “value signing” kind of takes but at 1.5 MM this is a pretty good deal, man.

    Like
    Reply
    • msqboxer

      1 month ago

      Agreed….if he makes the roster he’s a swing guy. Can start a game or throw multiple innings in games you don’t want to burn the pen out with.

      1 Like
      Reply
      • Very Barry

        1 month ago

        Phillies have the absolute worst bullpen in baseball. Why would you have any worry over burning any of those dudes out? Neither Nova nor the Phillies bullpen is capable of getting major league hitters to make outs below a 6.00 e.r.a.

        Like
        Reply
  20. raef715

    1 month ago

    well, Philly is the home of Nova Nation, so he would feel comfortable here at least.

    1 Like
    Reply
  21. Very Barry

    1 month ago

    Dumpster diving for pitching after spending $115 million on Realmuto to try to avoid a bad team getting worse by not keeping their best player (Harper ain’t that dude). Even worse is having to dumpster dive for pitching to try and stay in 4th place in the N.L. East ahead of Miami. The same Miami team that you unloaded your farm system to obtain Realmuto. Now you have to pay him $115 million in an attempt to stay ahead of Miami and Sixto Sanchez and you have no farm system.

    Like
    Reply
    • VonPurpleHayes

      1 month ago

      As if this has anything to do with the JT signing. It’s a depth move for a guy who may never make the roster. Chill.

      3 Like
      Reply
  22. mhsaltz1963

    1 month ago

    Dumpster diving for a fifth starter. Why is this a big deal? There is no risk in this signing. None. They’re about to add Simmons at SS which upgrades the defense. Maybe tonight. Not a bad day for the Phils.

    1 Like
    Reply
  23. angelsfan4life412

    1 month ago

    low risk , high reward. They do need depth for the rotation. I would like them to get another veteran not named Arrieta.

    Like
    Reply
    • mhsaltz1963

      1 month ago

      Phillies fans are beyond thrilled that Arietta is gone. I would like them to take a gamble on Chris Archer. I always thought this guy had good stuff but never could get it together. Another dumpster dive couldn’t hurt.

      Like
      Reply
  24. htbnm57

    1 month ago

    This is a good SP depth signing. Low risk, medium reward…

    Like
    Reply
  25. Eat em Up

    1 month ago

    In typical underperforming in Detroit and then leaving fashion, I expect him to have a career year.

    Like
    Reply
  26. Rsox

    1 month ago

    Nova could be a decent reclamation project for the Phillies

    Like
    Reply
  27. bucketbrew35

    1 month ago

    I really like him as a swing man out of the pen.

    Like
    Reply
  28. amandafafi

    1 month ago

    Not exactly Doc and Darling

    Like
    Reply

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