We knew this back in November, but it appears the Yankees are continuing to shop Ivan Nova around to other teams, according to George A. King III of the NY Post.
Nova is entering his final year before free agency, so the Yankees are looking for younger players in return with more team control. Nova hasn’t helped his stock since he came back from Tommy John surgery, but the Yankees are trying to sell to teams that the soon-to-be 29-year-old righty is primed for a major bounce-back year. However, one MLB exec told King “they are offering him out there, but I don’t know if there’s any takers.”
Nova’s posted good seasons in 2011 and 2013, but hasn’t shown consistency in others. He logged 94 innings in ’15 while throwing to a 5.07 ERA. He did average 93 mph on fastball, though, which is the same velocity he averaged during his best season in ’13 when he amassed a 3.10 ERA with 7.5 K/9, 2.8 BB/9 and a 53.5 percent ground-ball rate in 139 1/3 innings.
This is why the Yankees believe Nova can return to that form as he gets further away from his elbow surgery. They’re hoping other teams believe the same.
