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Pittsburgh Pirates 2016 vs. 2017 Part 2: Pitching
By Joe Smeltzer
Number Three
Juan Nicasio being in the Pirates starting rotation last season was a failed experiment. While I still see Nicasio as an asset out of the Bucco bullpen, he was awful during his stint as a starter in 2016. Ivan Nova will be an upgrade.
The biggest accomplishment of the Pirates offseason took place on December 22, when, against most predictions, they managed to resign Nova for two years, and $26 million.
Although he arrived in Pittsburgh at the trade deadline last year to little fanfare, Nova became arguably the ace of the Pirates staff down the stretch, and hopefully, finally being away from that launching pad in the Bronx for a full campaign will help him excel even further.
Nova > Nicasio