White Sox Acquire Starting Pitcher Ivan Nova In Trade With Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH, PA - AUGUST 04: Ivan Nova #46 of the Pittsburgh Pirates delivers a pitch in the first inning during the game against the St. Louis Cardinals at PNC Park on August 4, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA - AUGUST 04: Ivan Nova #46 of the Pittsburgh Pirates delivers a pitch in the first inning during the game against the St. Louis Cardinals at PNC Park on August 4, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images)

White Sox make a trade with Pittsburgh Pirates for a veteran starting pitcher as they address one of their many needs this offseason.

The Chicago White Sox addressed one of their needs this offseason as they made a trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates for veteran starting pitcher Ivan Nova on Tuesday afternoon. Nova is coming off a season in which he went 9-9 with a 4.19 ERA for the Pirates.

With the trade, the Pirates will receive international bonus pool money along with Yordi Rosario. Rosario has pitched the past three seasons in the Sox rookie leagues. He pitched 2016 and 2017 in the Dominican Rookie League and pitched this past season in the Arizona League.

The Sox will receive a much-needed veteran pitcher in Nova. Although his stats with the Pirates weren’t stellar the past two seasons, Nova does bring veteran leadership to a mostly young starting rotation going into the 2019 season. Over his three seasons with the Pirates, Nova went 25-25 with a 3.99 ERA. He was acquired by the Pirates after a trade with the New York Yankees in 2016.

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Nova signed a three-year $26 million contract with the Pirates in December of 2016. The 31-year-old right-handed pitcher will be entering the final year of his contract with $8.5 million remaining in addition to a signing bonus of $666,668. Nova made his major league debut in 2010 with the Yankees and went 53-39 with a 4.41 ERA over seven seasons with New York.

The Sox certainly needed to add a veteran starting pitcher to their rotation for next season. With a starting rotation consisting of Carlos Rodon, Reynaldo Lopez and Lucas Giolito, the Sox needed another pitcher that could eat innings while being reliable. With the addition of Nova, the Sox have a potential No. 3 or 4 starting pitcher in their rotation for 2019.

As the offseason rolls along, the Sox will have other needs they will have to address. The Sox don’t have to make all of their moves during the Winter Meetings. While many Sox fans are looking for bigger news this week, acquiring Nova is a step in the right direction for this franchise.

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