Ivan Nova

Pirates Notes: Starting Pitching, Coaches, Marte

By charliewilmoth | October 3, 2016 at 9:17am CDT

Here’s the latest on the Pirates, via Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:

The team plans to add a veteran starting pitcher this winter, manager Clint Hurdle says. Retaining Ivan Nova is a possibility, although, as Biertempfel suggests, Nova seems likely to hit the free agent market. “It’s definitely one of the conversations we’ve already initiated, whether it be Nova or somebody else of that ilk,” Hurdle says. The Pirates don’t have much in the way of veteran starting pitching beyond Gerrit Cole, with a variety of 2016 rookies, including Jameson Taillon, Chad Kuhl, Tyler Glasnow, Steven Brault and Trevor Williams, lined up behind him. One veteran, Jeff Locke, lost his rotation spot this year and looks like a non-tender candidate, while another, Drew Hutchison, spent most of the year in the minors.
The Pirates do not plan any coaching changes this winter despite a losing season in 2016, GM Neal Huntington says. Hurdle is signed through 2017 with a team option for 2018.
The Bucs placed outfielder Starling Marte on the 15-day DL with back trouble this weekend, a seemingly unnecessary move that did not clear roster space for another player and was not tied to any clauses in Marte’s long-term deal. Huntington’s explanation for the move was vague. “He’s missed a large majority of (September), unlike some of the other guys like (Francisco) Cervelli, who are banged up,” said Huntington. “We felt it was useful for a variety of reasons to note that he went on the DL.” Biertempfel suggests that the move might have been intended to send a message to Marte that the Pirates were unhappy he didn’t play more in September. “I was still working on my back,” says Marte. “I was working to get back into the lineup, but it still hurt.”

Free Agent Notes: Wieters, Yankees, Phillies, Hellickson, Nova

By Jeff Todd | September 29, 2016 at 10:32pm CDT

Orioles catcher Matt Wieters appears to be headed for the open market, as Jon Heyman of Fan Rag reports in his latest notes column. Recent chatter between agent Scott Boras and the club did not really even delve into extension talks, because it wasn’t seen as likely to result in any progress with the sides “believed to be tens of millions of dollars apart.” And Baltimore doesn’t seem to be interested in dangling a $16.7MM qualifying offer after Wieters took the one-year deal last offseason. Whether the O’s will pursue Wieters in free agency remains unclear — the team has chased its own free agents in the recent past, and does have a need behind the dish — but it seems that they’ll let him test interest from other clubs regardless.

Here’s more from Heyman’s column along with a few other notes on pending free agents:

The Yankees have an interesting offseason ahead, with many internal options but also a clear need to improve, and Heyman says the club will be looking to bolster its power while adding to its stable of arms — both in the starting staff and the bullpen. Last winter, New York didn’t give out a single big league contract, but that list of wants certainly suggests that things will be different this time around. One area the club could target, Heyman suggests, is the outfield. There are no shortage of possibilities on hand, with Brett Gardner, Jacoby Ellsbury, Aaron Hicks, and a returning Dustin Ackley joined by less-established players such as Tyler Austin, Rob Refsnyder, Jake Cave, Mason Williams, Aaron Judge, and possibly Clint Frazier in the possible mix. The unit’s overall output this season was uninspiring, though, and its most productive player — Carlos Beltran — is already playing elsewhere.
While the Phillies are said to be interested in adding to their lineup and rotation, Heyman writes that the club isn’t quite prepared for a major spending spree. Philadelphia’s brass believes that the team is at least a year away from competing in earnest, so it would be somewhat premature to go all-out on this winter’s market. That being said, it does still seem reasonable to think that the team will make some targeted additions as it seeks to ramp back up, with Heyman suggesting a left-handed hitter to spend time at both first base and the corner outfield.
Though his season ended with an early exit due to a sprained knee, Jeremy Hellickson provided the Phillies with solid output all year — he’ll wrap things up with a 3.71 ERA in 189 innings — and will hit the open market having significantly boosted his stock. He said after tonight’s game that he’s looking for multiple years on his next contract, as Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets. It seems rather likely he’ll find that elsewhere, with the big question being whether the Phils will make him a qualifying offer on his way out. That kind of cash could prove tempting, but it seems that Hellickson is hoping for some long-term security, and he ought to do quite well even if he’s tagged with draft compensation given the lack of other options.
Pirates righty Ivan Nova says he hopes to remain in Pittsburgh and intends to value his comfort there, as Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports (Twitter links). Still, he suggested that’s far from a certainty. “I don’t want to leave this clubhouse, to be honest,” he said. “But it’s not up to me.” It’s not immediately clear just what Nova meant by that comment, but certainly there are plenty of other factors at play — on his end, but also for the Pirates and other clubs. The 29-year-old has positioned himself nicely with a huge showing since heading to Pittsburgh. After his outing tonight, Nova has allowed just 21 earned runs over 59 1/3 innings with 47 strikeouts against only three walks.

NL Notes: Pirates, Melancon, Dodgers, Cardinals

By Connor Byrne | September 24, 2016 at 7:58pm CDT

Given the dearth of quality starting pitchers set to hit free agency during the offseason, it might make sense for the Pirates to use their money on bullpen upgrades if they’re unable to re-sign Ivan Nova, writes Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. The Pirates and Nova have engaged in extension talks, but the 29-year-old’s late-season breakout could price him out of the team’s range. If so, Sawchik suggests a reunion with soon-to-be free agent closer Mark Melancon, whom the Bucs traded to the Nationals at this year’s non-waiver trade deadline. As a 31-year-old who lacks eye-popping strikeout numbers, Melancon is likely to garner the cheapest contract among fellow impending free agent bullpen aces Kenley Jansen and Aroldis Chapman. Melancon made his return to Pittsburgh on Friday as a visitor and received an ovation from its fans, though he suffered his first blown save as a National in a 6-5 loss.

Pirates Aggressive In Extension Talks With Ivan Nova

By Jeff Todd | September 23, 2016 at 4:30pm CDT

The Pirates are “aggressively trying” to come to agreement with righty Ivan Nova on an extension that would keep him out of free agency, according to Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (Twitter links). We learned recently that Pittsburgh had opened dialogue with the 29-year-old.

Things do not seem to be progressing quite as smoothly as the Bucs might have hoped, though. Agent Greg Genske confirms that there have been “multiple offers” and says that “there is mutual interest,” but also made clear that “no agreement is imminent.”

Though Genske did not address his client’s asking price, prior reports put it at five years and $70MM. It remains hard to imagine the Pirates going near that amount, but the fact that discussions remain open certainly suggests that they put a high value on their most recent reclamation project. The report suggests that the organization is mindful of a weak upcoming market for pitching.

Nova has undeniably been spectacular since coming to Pittsburgh at the trade deadline — even as the organization sold some veteran pieces. His 2.93 ERA over 55 1/3 innings doesn’t really tell the true story. Nova has permitted only three walks in that span while picking up 45 strikeouts, meaning that he carries an outstanding 15.0 K/BB ratio.

With perhaps only a pair of starts to go before he’ll reach the open market, Nova doesn’t have a ton of risk at this point. A few duds could put a damper on his market, as could any kind of injury, but it isn’t as if he’s facing a full season at this point. And the Bucs can’t slap a qualifying offer on him, limiting the team’s leverage. All told, it would be surprising to see a deal come together, as there’s little downside and plenty of upside in testing the market in this case.

Pirates Have Made Extension Offers To Ivan Nova

By Steve Adams | September 22, 2016 at 9:02pm CDT

Ivan Nova has been a revelation in the Pirates’ rotation since being acquired for a pair of minor leaguers (Stephen Tarpley and Tito Polo), and Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that Pittsburgh is already working to prevent Nova from reaching the open market. The Pirates have made a pair of extension offers to Nova, according to Brink, but Nova’s representatives with the Legacy Agency opened talks with an asking price of $70MM over five years.

While that’s a shocking number, to be sure, given Nova’s lack of a track record, it’s not surprising to see any agency come in with high starting point. (Conversely, while Brink doesn’t report the size of Pittsburgh’s early offer, one can only imagine that it was probably considerably lower than the top of their comfort zone and than Nova’s market value.) Brink does note that the Pirates were the ones to initiate talks with Nova’s camp in the first week of September, and they came back with an increased counter-offer after hearing the early asking price. While Brink doesn’t indicate that anything is close between the two sides, discussions are still alive at this juncture.

Two months ago, that number for Nova would’ve seemed preposterous, but like many pitchers before him, Nova has experienced a renaissance in Pittsburgh. Though he finally had a rough outing in his most recent start, the 29-year-old Nova has worked to a brilliant 2.93 ERA with 7.3 K/9 against a superlative 0.5 BB/9 in 55 1/3 innings of work. He’s maintained his strong ground-ball rate (50.9 percent since the trade) and issued an unthinkable three walks to the 220 batters he’s faced. While there will, of course, be skepticism about his ability to sustain this performance (particularly the superlative command), this isn’t the first prolonged stretch of excellence that Nova has enjoyed in his career. He tossed 139 innings of 3.10 ERA ball for the Yankees in 2013, but Tommy John surgery in late April of the 2014 season prematurely halted his opportunity to build on that success.

MLBTR’s Charlie Wilmoth recently likened Nova’s emergence with the Bucs to that of J.A. Happ last season following a trade from the Blue Jays, and the comparison is apt. However, Happ was three years older than Nova at the time of their respective trades, and he was walking into a considerably stronger market for starting pitching. I’ve been slow to warm to this idea, personally, as I recently explained in the MLBTR Mailbag, but a four-year contract for Nova is looking increasingly likely on this year’s dreadful market for free-agent starters. His primary competition will be a 36-year-old Rich Hill (37 next March) and Jeremy Hellickson. However, while Hellickson is more comparably aged to Nova (29) and has been an outstanding buy-low investment for the Phillies, he’ll almost certainly have to deal with a qualifying offer this winter. Nova, though, will be free of that burden by virtue of the midseason trade that sent him from New York to Pittsburgh and made him ineligible to receive a QO.

Latest On Ivan Nova, Pirates’ Offseason

By Connor Byrne | September 18, 2016 at 1:27pm CDT

The Pirates acquired Ivan Nova from the Yankees without much fanfare at the Aug. 1 trade deadline, but the right-hander has since turned into Pittsburgh’s latest successful reclamation project. Nova had a rough showing against the Reds on Sunday, but he entered the contest with a 2.41 ERA to pair with an even more impressive 0.52 BB/9 in 52 1/3 innings with the Pirates. As an impending free agent, Nova’s breakout might go down as a bittersweet development for the Bucs, who could lose him after the season.

“He has obviously changed the direction of his winter in the last six weeks,” manager Clint Hurdle admitted to Stephen J. Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Nova, 29, was back-of-the-rotation fodder in New York over the past couple seasons, but he’s likely to cash in soon as an appealing arm in a free agent market that will be largely devoid of them. It will also help Nova’s cause that the Pirates won’t be able to tender him a qualifying offer, which would force another team to give up a first-round pick to sign him. J.A. Happ, who was dominant with the Pirates after they acquired him from Seattle a year ago, also didn’t have a qualifying offer weighing him down when he hit free agency last winter. That, combined with his down-the-stretch performance in Pittsburgh, earned him a three-year, $36MM deal with the Blue Jays.

While many are quick to credit highly regarded pitching coach Ray Searage when an unheralded pickup fares well with the Pirates, Hurdle told Nesbitt that the team hasn’t had Nova make any significant changes since it landed him.

“There’s been no major overhaul,” Hurdle said. “For Nova, the downhill angle has been there, the strike-throwing efficiency has been there. It’s just been a couple things he has tightened up.”

In addition to Nova, the Pirates will have offseason decisions to make on other free agents, including reliever Neftali Feliz and a pair of position players – outfielder Matt Joyce and utilityman Sean Rodriguez – writes Nesbitt. All three signed inexpensive one-year deals with the Bucs last offseason, and Joyce and Rodriguez have been especially effective in 2016. As a result, they’re in line for raises. Joyce, who’s on a $1MM salary, has batted a stellar .248/.408/.481 with 12 home runs in 262 plate appearances. That’s a far cry from the .174/.272/.291 line and five homers he put up in 284 PAs with the Angels last year. Rodriguez, a $2.5MM player, has slashed a career-best .266/.349/.516 with 16 homers in 293 trips to the plate. Along the way, the 31-year-old has spent time at every position but pitcher and catcher.

Elsewhere on the roster, arbitration-eligible pitchers Juan Nicasio, Jared Hughes, Jeff Locke and Wade LeBlanc are potential non-tender candidates, per Nesbitt. Nicasio and Hughes have been superior to Locke and LeBlanc, both of whom seem likely to go. Locke will be due a raise over his $3.025MM salary despite having posted ugly numbers (5.49 ERA, 1.64 K/BB ratio) in 126 1/3 innings this year. LeBlanc, meanwhile, joined the Pirates on Tuesday after they picked him up in a trade with Seattle. The Mariners previously designated him for assignment in late August.

NL Notes: Pirates, Rockies, Phillies, Reds

By Connor Byrne | September 11, 2016 at 2:20pm CDT

Since the Pirates acquired Ivan Nova from the Yankees prior to the Aug. 1 non-waiver trade deadline, the right-hander has unexpectedly performed like a top-of-the-rotation starter. In seven starts and 46 1/3 innings with the Bucs, Nova has recorded a 2.54 ERA while tossing two complete games and amassing 32 strikeouts against a paltry two walks. Part of the reason for Nova’s success is the Pirates’ stadium, PNC Park, he told Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “It’s not like pitching in Baltimore or Boston, Toronto, where the ball flies, or New York. A fly ball, (and) it’s a homer,” said Nova, whose new venue has the largest left field in the majors, per Sawchik. Yankee Stadium, on the other hand, has the league’s shallowest right field and is among its most home run-friendly venues. The change in parks has been timely for Nova, a free agent-to-be who is likely pitching his way to an appreciable raise over his current salary of $4.1MM.

Rosenthal On Astros, Rangers, Nova, CBA

By charliewilmoth | September 10, 2016 at 3:11pm CDT

Here’s the latest from Ken Rosenthal, via a video at FOX Sports.

Some members of the Astros are frustrated that the team didn’t deal for a top starter at the August 1 trade deadline, but GM Jeff Luhnow says the team ultimately didn’t make a big acquisition because teams were requesting big hauls in return, including players already contributing at the big-league level. Rosenthal notes that the Astros had previously had a surplus of starters, leading them to deal Dan Straily and then, months later, Scott Feldman for minimal returns (or perhaps seemingly minimal returns, since it’s way too early to get a clear read on Lupe Chavez, the very young pitcher the Astros got from the Blue Jays for Feldman). With Lance McCullers and Dallas Keuchel now hurt, though, the Astros might not have enough top starting pitching.
The Rangers attempted to acquire Ivan Nova from the Yankees last month, with the talks occurring very close to the deadline. The Yankees, of course, sent Nova to the Pirates, where he has had tremendous success in their rotation. Nova has posted a 2.53 ERA, 6.2 K/9 and a remarkable 0.4 BB/9 in 46 1/3 innings for Pittsburgh. It’s impossible to say, of course, whether Nova would have had similar success in Texas, which is a completely different context in which to pitch, perhaps especially for someone like Nova, who struggled with allowing home runs in New York. But he might well have been able to help a team that has seen A.J. Griffin and Lucas Harrell struggle at the back of its rotation over the past month.
MLB’s Collective Bargaining Agreement is due to expire at the beginning of December, but the two sides would prefer to have a new agreement in place by the beginning of November. The free agent market could unfold slowly without a new labor deal, with teams reluctant to commit to free agents without a clear idea of the rules going forward.

NL Central Notes: Maddon, Nathan, Bruce, Nova

By Mark Polishuk | September 4, 2016 at 7:59pm CDT

Some items from around the NL Central…

Joe Maddon is hardly the first manager to embrace his players’ versatility, though Joel Sherman of the New York Post notes that though few have done it to the sheer extent of the Cubs’ skipper. Chicago’s dominant lead in the standings has given Maddon some leeway to experiment, though it could also be argued that the Cubs are enjoying such a great season because Maddon has been so canny about pursuing every possible advantage to help his team win. Sherman feels that other teams could use the Cubs as a blueprint for future roster construction, as having multi-positional players around can solve many issues.
Joe Nathan was understandably let down about being released by the Cubs last month, the veteran reliever tells ESPN Chicago’s Jesse Rogers. Nathan signed with Chicago in May and eventually pitched in three games for the Cubs after completing his rehab from Tommy John surgery. “In their defense I don’t think they foresaw picking up [Aroldis] Chapman, picking up Joe Smith, and their bullpen shaping up the way it was,” Nathan said. “On that side of it I completely understand. Still, it was a disappointing turn of events. Things went from ’this is the plan’ to ’now what?’ ” Nathan said that Cubs president Theo Epstein personally informed him about the release, and the veteran reliever didn’t have any hard feelings towards his former club. Of course, Nathan’s disappointment has been mitigated by the fact that he signed on with another contender in the Giants.
When Jay Bruce learned he was going to be dealt, the outfielder asked the Reds to trade him “anywhere but New York,” Hal McCoy of the Dayton Daily News writes. No specific reason was given for Bruce’s reported misgivings about joining the Mets. Bruce has, in fact, badly struggled since joining the Mets in a deadline deal, entering today with only a .198/.270/.327 slash line and three homers over 111 plate appearances.
With Ivan Nova pitching well since joining the Pirates in July, Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review thinks the Bucs could “consider being aggressive in approaching Nova with an extension” before the righty hits free agency in the offseason. As MLBTR’s Charlie Wilmoth recently noted in a Free Agent Stock Watch piece, a strong finish from Nova could line him up for as much as a three-year deal this winter; he’ll stand out in a very thin pitching market and teams could see him as a new J.A. Happ, who blossomed after going to Pittsburgh last season and has continued to pitch well in Toronto. Extending Nova now would save the Bucs some money, since it’s possible his market could grow to the point that he is priced out of the Pirates’ comfort zone. That said, my guess would be that Nova will forego an extension to at least test the open market, given that he’s so close to free agency.

Pirates, Yankees Complete Ivan Nova Trade

By Jeff Todd | August 30, 2016 at 5:03pm CDT

The Pirates and Yankes have completed the mid-summer swap that sent Ivan Nova to Pittsburgh, per an announcement. Outfielder Tito Polo and lefty Stephen Tarpley are headed to New York in the swap as the players to be named later.

As MLBTR’s Charlie Wilmoth recently examined, Nova has been every bit the buy-low, bounceback candidate that the Bucs hoped he would be. Over five starts since coming to Pittsburgh, the 29-year-old has posted a 2.87 ERA over 31 1/3 frames with 22 strikeouts against one solitary walk. Pittsburgh will only get to enjoy the fruits of the turnaround for the next month, as Nova is set to hit the open market after the season, but he has helped keep the club in contention.

In return for Nova, the Bucs will end up parting with a reasonably interesting pair of young players, both of whom cracked MLB.com’s most recent top thirty organizational prospect list. Polo, who just turned 22, cruised through the Class A level but has seen his power dissipate over 247 plate appearances at High-A (.276/.351/.346). The 23-year-old Tarpley — a 2013 third-rounder who came to the Pirates in the deal that sent Travis Snider to the Orioles — has spent the entire year at the High-A level, posting a 4.32 ERA with 8.1 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 over 100 innings.

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