Ivan Nova

At 37 years old, Ivan Nova has this physical status:

Iván Manuel Nova Guance (born January 12, 1987) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent.

He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago White Sox. Nova grew up poor in the Dominican Republic, where he started playing baseball at a young age.

An unheralded prospect, the Yankees signed Nova as an international free agent in 2004.

After pitching in minor league baseball through the 2008 season, the San Diego Padres selected Nova from the Yankees in the Rule 5 draft.

The Padres opted not to carry Nova on their 25-man roster, however, and returned him to the Yankees. Nova enjoyed a breakout season in the minors for the Yankees in 2009.

He made his MLB debut with the Yankees in 2010, and established himself as a key member of the Yankees' starting rotation during the 2011 season.

After struggling in 2012, Nova reemerged in 2013, winning the American League Pitcher of the Month Award for August 2013.

The Yankees traded Nova to the Pirates in 2016, and he won the National League Pitcher of the Month Award for April 2017.

After the 2018 season, the Pirates traded Nova to the White Sox.

Early life

Nova was raised in San Cristóbal, Dominican Republic. His father, Manuel, managed a restaurant on the beach. To make ends meet, Nova and his four siblings slept in the same bed and often worked in their father's restaurant.

Nova rooted for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball and the Leones del Escogido of the Dominican Professional Baseball League as a child. He played baseball as a shortstop and outfielder, but was not highly regarded as a prospect. He went unnoticed by scouts until he experienced a growth spurt at the age of 15. Local scouts asked Nova to pitch in a game against older players, and he continued to train as a pitcher.

The Boston Red Sox invited Nova to their Dominican academy, where they attempted to sign him. Nova declined their contract offer, however, as the Red Sox are rivals of the Yankees. When he was 17 years old, a trainer recommended Nova to Victor Mata, a Yankees scout, who invited Nova to attend their Dominican academy.

Personal life

Nova's family resides in the Dominican Republic. His father traveled to the United States to watch his second MLB start in person. Nova dedicated his 2011 season to his grandfather, who died in 2010.

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Career

The Yankees signed Nova as an international free agent on July 15, 2004, following a two-week tryout. Nova received a $80,000 signing bonus, about the same as a Dominican prospect's. Although other clubs may have paid Nova more, he insisted on a contract with the Yankees.

Nova made his professional debut with the Gulf Coast Yankees in 2006, where he set a 3–0 win–loss record with a 2.72 earned run average (ERA). The Yankees assigned him to the Charleston RiverDogs of the Class A South Atlantic League, beginning in extended spring training in 2007.

Nova pitched for the Tampa Yankees of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League in 2008. Nova began the season with a 0–5 win–loss record and a 5.06 ERA, at which time he considered quitting baseball. Nova fought, winning an 8–13 loss record and a 4.36 ERA in 26 games, 24 of which he started, but he resisted, and finished the season with an 8–13 win-loss record and a 4.36 ERA. He had 109 strikeouts and 46 walks.

After the 2008 season, the Yankees did not add Nova to their 40-man roster, exposing him to the Rule 5 draft for the off-season. Nova, if selected, would have rejoined the team by the end of spring training, as he was unlikely to complete the season on a team's 25-man roster, as required by the Rule 5 process. The San Diego Padres selected Nova with the twentieth pick in the Rule 5 draft in December 2008. Nova had an 8.31 ERA in spring training, allowing eight earned runs and 13 hits in 8+2/3 innings pitched, with walking four runs and striking out three others. He was recalled to the Yankees after completing outright waivers at the start of spring training.

Nova, a member of the Trenton Thunder of the Class AA Eastern League, started the 2009 season. He began the season with a 2.36 ERA in 12 games. The Yankees sent him to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees of the Class AAA International League, where he made his debut against the Rochester Red Wings on June 29, pitching 5+2/3 innings of no-hit baseball. Nova had a 6-8 win-loss record and a 3.68 ERA during the regular season and had a 1.93 ERA in two postseason starts with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Following the 2009 season, the Yankees added Nova to their 40-man roster to ensure he was not drafted in the Rule 5 draft again.

Nova was promoted to the major leagues on May 10, 2010 after posting a 2.43 ERA and 1.27 walks per inning pitched ratio in his first six starts for Scranton/Wilkes Barre. He pitched three shutout innings in relief before being returned to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Nova was recalled to the majors on August 21, and he made his first major league appearance on August 23. In his first start, he impressed the Yankees by going 5+1/3 innings and allowing two runs on six hits against the Toronto Blue Jays. He was given his second chance in the Yankees' starting rotation, replacing Javier Vázquez. Nova defeated seven Chicago White Sox in his first MLB victory on August 29.

The league prosecuted Nova and fellow Yankees pitching prospect Wilkins de la Rosa for injecting each other with Vitamin B12. Nova made seven starts for the Yankees in 2010, pitching to a 1–2 record and a 4.50 ERA. Nova reached the sixth inning only once, when he allowed a higher opponents' batting average and ERA in the fifth inning than in the first four. Nova was not on the Yankees' postseason roster, so the Yankees did not include him.

Nova was hoping to secure a spot in the starting rotation in spring 2011. Nova was called to the Yankees' starting rotation. Nova got off to a good start in his career on June 20, with one run against the Cincinnati Reds allowing one run in eight innings against the Cincinnati Reds while striking out seven. Nova had an 8–4 win-loss record and 4.15 ERA in his six most recent starts, with a 4–1 record and a 3.35 ERA.

Despite Nova's triumph, he was sent to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre due to Bartolo Colón's return to the disabled list, and Wilkes-Barre was the only other option left on the disabled list, as Nova had limited league choices remaining. Nova used the time with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to work on his slider.

Nova was called up to the majors after a double-header against the Baltimore Orioles on July 30. Nova stayed in the Yankee rotation after a 7+2/3 inning, six hits, one run, and zero walk against the Chicago White Sox. He stayed in the rotation as boss Joe Girardi switched to a six-man rotation instead of the traditional five-man rotation in order to keep Nova up. Nova had an 8-0 record with a 3.18 ERA after his promotion on July 30. Nova was selected by the Yankees for their three-man postseason starting rotation at the end of the season. In Game 2 of the 2011 American League Division Series, Girardi named Nova the starter (ALDS). He pitched 6+2/3 innings of the restarted game when rain was postponed by rain in the third innings, giving the victory but allowing only two runs and gaining the victory. In Game 5, he pitched for the Yankees again, but the team lost the series.

Nova set a 16–4 record in 2011, the most games for a Yankees rookie since Stan Bahnsen won 17 games in 1968. He had also had a 3.70 ERA. Following the season, he was named to the Baseball America All-Rookie Team. Nova came in fourth place in the American League's Rookie of the Year Award, behind Jeremy Hellickson, Mark Trumbo, and Eric Hosmer.

Nova has been granted a spot in the starting rotation for the 2012 season in spring training. He played in 15 games from June 2011 to May 2012, one short of Roger Clemens' franchise record. During the 2011 season, he tied for the first time in twelve consecutive victories, which Atley Donald set in 1939.

Nova had a 5.60 ERA through May, but the All-Star break brought it to 3.92. Nova defeated Randall Delgado 3–0 in an interleague match against the Atlanta Braves on June 11, 2012. Nova was not strong after the All-Star break, pitching to a 2–5 record in ten starts, and was placed on the 15-day disabled list due to rotator cuff inflammation. Due to his season of inactivity, the Yankees decided to demote Nova to the bullpen for the 2012 ALCS until the team lost to the Detroit Tigers. Despite his 5.02 ERA, he finished the 2012 season with a record of 12–8 in 28 starts.

Nova struggled in his first four starts of the 2013 season, when he failed to pitch past the fifth inning, raising his record by a 1.28 ERA. Nova was placed on the 15-day disabled list on April 27, 2013 after an MRI revealed he had inflammation of his right triceps. Nova was born on May 24, 2013 and demoted to the bullpen. On May 29, 2013, he pitched an inning against the New York Mets. However, he was sent by Scranton/Wilkes-Barre the next day, when the Yankees decided they wanted Nova to continue to play.

Nova was recalled by the Yankees on June 23. In a 3–2 victory over the Orioles on July 5, he pitched his first complete game in his career. Nova pitched his first career shutout against the Orioles on August 31. Nova was named AL Pitcher of the Month in August 2013, when he set a new low record and a 2.08 ERA. Nova made seven starts in a row from July 5 to August 31, in which he pitched at least seven innings and allowed three or fewer runs. Nova played a 7-5 record and a 2.70 ERA in 17 games, 16 of which were started, after being barred from the minor leagues. In 23 games played, 19 of them starts, he was 9–6 for a 3.10 ERA in 23 games pitched.

Nova and the Yankees decided on a $3.3 million salary for the 2014 season, making them eligible for salary arbitration. He was forced to leave his start with an elbow injury that was diagnosed as a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament tear and required Tommy John surgery, effectively ending Nova's season. In four starts before the surgery, he had a 2–2 record and an 8.47 ERA.

Nova began a throwing program to recover his arm in September and spent the winter at the Yankees' spring training facility in Tampa, Florida, rather than returning to the Dominican Republic. The Yankees signed Nova to a $3.3 million deal for the 2015 season, avoiding arbitration. Nova was placed on the 60-day disabled list by the Yankees on April 11, 2015, to begin the season recovering from Tommy John surgery. He started his recovery on June 8 and then returned to the Yankees on June 24. Nova had a 5.11 ERA in 14 starts before being dropped from the Yankees' starting rotation on September 16; however, Nova returned to the rotation due to a Masahiro Tanaka injury. He had a 6-11 record and a 5.07 ERA in 2015, his best season in the league.

Nova signed a $4.1 million deal in his last year of arbitration. Nova came to a stop in the 2016 season as a relief pitcher before getting his first start on May 9. The bullpen and rotation had a 4.6 percent winning streak in 21 games, 15 starts for the Yankees through the season in July. With eight hits allowed, he tied for the most bunt hits allowed in the major leagues.

Nova was traded by the Pittsburgh Pirates to the Pittsburgh Pirates on August 1, 2016, but two players were not named until later. Stephen Tarpley and Tito Polo were uncovered on August 30, the players were named. Nova got 11 starts for the Pirates, and she was batting in a 3.06 ERA with 52 strikeouts and three walks in 64+2/3 innings pitched. He has also played three complete games.

Nova has agreed to a three-year, $26 million contract with the Pirates on December 27, 2016. Nova received the National League Pitcher of the Month Award for April 2017, after he led the league with 36 innings pitched and a 1.50 ERA, and threw two complete games (one shutout). Nova was the first Pirate to throw at least six innings against the Miami Marlins on June 11, making him the first Pirate to throw at least six innings in his first thirteen starts since Eddie Solomon in 1981, who did it seventeen times. Nova's streak came to an end in a 6–2 win over the Rays in his sixteenth start of the season. Nova had a 3.21 ERA in 120+2nd3 innings in 18 games before the All-Star break. He struggled in the second half of the season, with a three-inning outing on August 30, which caused the Pirates to postpone Nova's next game. With a 4.2 ERA in 187 innings pitched, he came to an end to the season.

Nova was born on Monday, the Pirates' Opening Day in 2018. In 161 innings pitched, he had a 9-9 record, a 4.19 ERA, 114 strikeouts, and 35 walks. He had the lowest fielding percentage among major league pitchers at.792, making the most mistakes with five.

On December 11, 2018, the Pirates traded Nova to the Chicago White Sox for Yordi Rosario and $500,000 in international signing bonus funds. Nova set a 4.72 ERA in 2019 and led the American League with 225 hits allowed. He hit.300, the highest batting average in the major leagues.

The Detroit Tigers agreed to a one-year, $1.5 million contract on January 13, 2020. Nova was in four games with the 2020 Detroit Tigers, compiling a 1–1 record with 8.53 ERA and nine strikeouts in 19 innings pitched.

Nova signed a minor league deal with the Philadelphia Phillies on January 26, 2021. Nova demanded and was released by the Phillies on March 25, 2021. Nova signed a minor league deal with the Colorado Rockies organization on April 12, 2021. Nova was released by the Rockies on April 29, Canada's organization announced it on April 29.

Nova agreed to a one-year, $1 million contract with the SSG Landers of the KBO League on December 21, 2021.

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