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Which Pittsburgh Pirates Are Under Pressure The Next Two Weeks?
By Marty Leap
Starting pitcher Ivan Nova
On August 1st the Pittsburgh Pirates acquired Ivan Nova from the New York Yankees. While with the Yankees, Nova was terrible. However, since coming to Pittsburgh he has been the Pirates’ best starting pitcher.
In nine starts as a Pirate Ivan Nova has pitched 55 1/3 innings and this includes a pair of complete games. In these 55 1/3 innings he has allowed 56 hits, four home runs, he has walked just three batters, and he has struck out 45 batters. This has led to Nova posting a 2.93 ERA, 2.67 FIP, and a 3.09 xFIP with the Pirates.
Why is there pressure on Ivan Nova?
Ivan Nova will most likely make two more starts for the Pirates this season. These will be Nova’s last two starts to impress teams across Major League Baseball before he hits free agency this offseason.
The starting pitching class in thus offseason’s free agent class is, to put it kindly, horrendous. Due to what he has done the past two months Ivan Nova is going to get absolutely paid this offseason. The better he pitches in the next two weeks, the more money he will make this offseason.