Ivan Nova is one of six starters competing for a job in the New York Yankees rotation. The right-hander is entering his second year removed from Tommy John surgery and is already making a good impression in spring training.
Nova tossed three scoreless innings against the New York Mets on Wednesday and allowed three hits and one walk. The 29-year-old has now logged five innings this spring, allowing just one earned run on five hits and a walk in his two starts. After a poor 2015 campaign, it's clear he's gunning for a rotation spot.
General manager Brian Cashman said Nova will land in the bullpen "if he doesn't win a job out of the rotation." However, the fragile Yankees' rotation could provide a prime opportunity for the impending free agent. Although he went 6-11 with a 5.07 ERA, 1.40 WHIP and 63 strikeouts in 17 starts (94 innings), he showed flashes of efficiency in a number of his outings.
This spring he's seemingly been putting the Nova of 2011 and 2013 on display. Those were the best campaigns of his career, as he owns a 25-10 record with a 3.43 ERA in those 51 games (47 starts).
Earlier in the offseason, rumors suggested the Yankees were shopping the right-hander with hopes of using the selling point of the pitcher being "motivated" in his contract year and more confident and healthy entering his second full season following reconstructive elbow surgery. The team couldn't find any suitors, but it seems as if Nova is making that look like a good thing.
"He was 91 to 93 [mph] with the fastball, down in the zone and got six ground-ball outs, which is very good,'' a scout told George A. King III of the New York Post. "The curveball needs some tightening, but he threw strikes and pitched to the big part of the ballpark.''
Nova said it's been a long time since he's felt the way he does right now, which is seemingly good news for New York considering they're going to need all the rotation depth they can get. With injury concerns surrounding Masahiro Tanaka, Michael Pineda, Nathan Eovaldi and CC Sabathia, the Yanks need to ensure they have someone on deck to slide into the rotation.
Nova will likely be one of those guys, assuming he doesn't win a job outright this spring.