Pittsburgh Pirates: Three More Way to Open Payroll

(Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)
(Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images) /
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Pittsburgh Pirates Nova
(Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images) /

Ivan Nova

Ivan Nova might be the most logical and easiest to trade of the players currently on the Pittsburgh Pirates roster.  He is a durable, back end of the rotation pitcher who many teams could insert with confidence.  While he is not going to be up for any awards, the reliability and consistency that he brings to the mound could help a team.  Meanwhile, the Pittsburgh Pirates could look to add another arm in with more upside than Nova, a reclamation project, or an in-house guy.  The last two options would be interesting because the Pittsburgh Pirates top pitching prospect, Mitch Keller, is at Triple-A and could be up as soon as June.

Nova had himself a solid year in 2018, so there is definitely an expectation for him to be a serviceable pitcher next season.  All in all, Nova threw 161 innings across 29 starts.  He posted a 9-9 record with a 4.18 earned run average.  Nova has a base salary of $8.5 million but according to Spotrac.com, he will make $9.16 million this upcoming season.  So if the team trades him, that could be another significant chunk of change that could be used.  The team could then use that money on another starting pitcher or allow Nick Kingham to be the team’s fifth starter next season.