Trade Central: Pirates Boost Rotation With Nova

THE DEAL

The Pirates bolstered their sagging rotation just before the deadline Monday, acquiring veteran righthander Ivan Nova from the Yankees in exchange for two players to be named later.

Nova joins a Pirates rotation that entered the day ranked 23rd in the majors with a 4.77 ERA. He takes the rotation spot of Jon Niese, who was traded to the Mets for reliever Antonio Bastardo in a separate move.

PIRATES ACQUIRE
Ivan Nova, rhp
Age: 29

That Nova is an upgrade speaks to how bad the Pirates rotation has been this season. He originally began the year in the bullpen and only moved to the rotation in May with Luis Severino and Michael Pineda struggling mightily. He’s been maddeningly inconsistent as a starter—his seven innings of one-run ball on June 23 followed by failing to get out of the fifth inning in his next start is a microcosm of his season—but at least is trending in the right direction with a 3.86 ERA in June. Even with his struggles, his ERA is lower than three-fifths of the Pirates current rotation, and he gives Pittsburgh an opportunity to perform better in the second half than it did in the first.

Club (League)	Class	W	L	ERA	G	GS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO
New York (AL)	ML	9	8	4.90	21	15	97.1	107	54	53	19	25	75

YANKEES ACQUIRE
Stephen Tarpley, lhp
Age: 23

Tarpley was originally and Orioles farmhand but was dealt in December 2015 as part of the deal that moved outfielder Travis Snider to Baltimore. He’s spent the entire season with high Class A Bradenton and has put up middling numbers. He operates with four pitches, including a fastball that can reach as high as 95. His secondaries primarily consist of a curveball and changeup, but he will show an occasional slider as well. He’s had trouble with control this season, as shown by 36 walks in 94 innings.

Club (League)	Class	W	L	ERA	G	GS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO
Bradenton (FSL)	HiA	6	3	4.40	19	19	94	88	51	46	8	36	84

Tito Polo, of
Age: 22

Polo is an intriguing if raw prospect. He made our Matt Eddy’s list of intriguing power-speed prospects in July, and has put together a solid season across two levels of A-ball. He returned to low Class A to start the year, and showed the pop and speed that Eddy referred to, smacking a dozen home runs and swiping 20 bases in 30 tries. He was promoted to high Class A Bradenton in June and his power numbers took a hit—as tends to happen in the pitcher-friendly Florida State League—but he stole 17 more bases in 24 tries. Scouts who have seen him this year see an average defender with better than average bat speed and plus footspeed. He does have a tendency to chase pitches low in the zone, but a toolsy outfielder is always the kind of player you want in your system.