Rick Hahn at his season ending media session stated his intentions of finding solutions for both the starting pitching staff and bullpen. After obtaining reliever Alex Colome a couple of weeks ago via trade, Hahn pulls off another deal by acquiring starting pitcher Ivan Nova from Pittsburgh, first reported by Ken Rosenthal and Robert Murray of The Athletic.
#WhiteSox acquiring RHP Ivan Nova from the #Pirates, pending a review of medical records of players involved, sources tell me and @ByRobertMurray.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 11, 2018
Nova is entering the final year of his three-year deal which he signed with Pittsburgh back in 2017. His salary for the 2019 season will be $9.167 million ($8.5 million in base salary + $666,668 in signing bonus) as he'll fill the void that James Shields leaves after his option was declined by the White Sox.
In 2018, Nova had a 9-9 record with a 4.19 ERA and 4.57 FIP. Not much of a strikeout artist racking up 114 punchouts over 161 innings, Nova does a pretty good job limiting free passes. Posting BB/9 of 2.0 in 2018, and 1.7 in 2017. If that carries over to this season, it would be much welcomed as the entire Sox starting staff had a BB/9 greater than 3.4 in 2018.
In exchange for Nova, the White Sox gave up rookie-league righty Yordi Rosario and $500,000 international pool money (updated).
