advertisement

Can Ivan Nova's command of strike zone rub off on White Sox's young rotation?

There are two reasons why acquiring starter Ivan Nova in a December trade from the Pirates make sense for the White Sox.

First, Nova has pitched in the major leagues for nine years, so he brings needed experience to a young rotation.

Second, he throws strikes.

Over the last three seasons, Nova has averaged 1.75 walks over 8 innings, the fourth-best ratio in baseball behind Clayton Kershaw (1.30), Mike Leake (1.66) and Bartolo Colon (1.66).

The Sox are hoping Nova's stellar command of the strike zone rubs off on a starting staff that led the majors with 400 walks last season.

With Pittsburgh in 2018, Nova issued 35 walks in 161 innings. Lucas Giolito, by comparison, walked 90 in 173⅓ innings.

“I'm looking forward to watching him throw, talking to him,” Giolito said. “He's a strike-thrower, he fills up the zone. That's what we need to do as a starting staff, so it's amazing we have a guy like that come in.”

The 32-year-old Nova will be happy to offer advice to Giolito, Carlos Rodon and Reynaldo Lopez, but he's not the pushy type.

“If I've got to approach somebody, I'll do it my way,” he said. “I'm not going to step up in front of everybody and say something. I don't like to get involved in anyone's personal space. But if I've got to say something to someone, I'm going to grab them aside and do it that way.”

While Nova might not be a long-term fit — he's a free agent at the end of the season — he can help some of the White Sox's young arms get over the hump in the clubhouse and hold his own on the mound.

Over his career with the Pirates and Yankees, the right-hander is 78-64 with a 4.26 ERA and he's pitched 160-plus innings in a season five times.

With Pittsburgh last season, Nova was 9-9 with a 4.19 ERA. He held right-handers to a .250/.289/.419 hitting line with 12 home runs and 36 RBI.

Left-handers slashed .288/.331/.503 and had 14 homers and 39 RBI against Nova.

“He got righties, but lefties got him too much,” pitching coach Don Cooper said of the Sox's likely No. 3 starter. “There are some things we're going to be talking to him about, fortifying his repertoire to be stronger against lefties.”

Nova has been working on a cutter this spring in an attempt to neutralize left-handed hitters.

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.