San Francisco Giants: Ivan Nova could be a useful workhorse

The San Francisco Giants will likely be searching for starting pitching help this offseason. Veteran workhorse Ivan Nova could be a good addition to round out the staff.

With longtime ace Madison Bumgarner set to hit the open market and several young starters struggling to find consistency in 2019, the San Francisco Giants will need to address the starting rotation this winter.

The marquee name on the free-agent market is Houston Astros right-hander Gerrit Cole, while others like Zack Wheeler, Jake Odorizzi and Michael Pineda could also provide a significant boost to the staff.

However, after the team signed Drew Pomeranz to a one-year, $1.5 million deal last offseason, they could also explore some under-the-radar value options on the market.

While Ivan Nova might not be the most exciting name on the market, he’s capable of eating up innings and providing some leadership on young staff.

The 32-year-old spent last season with the Chicago White Sox, posting a 4.72 ERA (97 ERA+) in 187 innings of work over 34 starts.

It’s the fourth straight season he has logged at least 160 innings, posting a 4.31 ERA and 1.32 WHIP for a 99 ERA+ during that span while pitching for the New York Yankees, Pittsburgh Pirates and White Sox.

Last time he hit the open market, he signed a three-year, $26 million deal ahead of his age-30 season.

While his current age and average performance during the life of that contract will likely keep him from securing another contract beyond two years, he is still capable of providing useful innings to a young San Francisco Giants staff.

To that point, Bumgarner (207.2 IP) and Jeff Samardzija (181.1 IP) were the team leaders in innings pitched, well ahead of young starters Tyler Beede (117 IP), Dereck Rodriguez (99 IP), Shaun Anderson (96 IP) and Logan Webb (39.2 IP).

Signing a workhorse like Nova to a reasonable one- or two-year deal to solidify the staff would help take some pressure off those developing pitchers. If he pitches well, it’s also not out of the question to think he could turn himself into a viable trade chip.

The San Francisco Giants should cast a wide net in their search for starting pitching help this winter, and steady veteran Ivan Nova could be a nice under-the-radar target.