CHICAGO -- The Chicago White Sox have acquired veteran right-handed pitcher Ivan Nova from the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for minor-league pitcher Yordi Rosario and international signing bonus pool money.
Nova, 31, went 9-9 with a 4.19 ERA (75 ER/161.0 IP) and 114 strikeouts over 29 starts with the Pirates in 2018. He averaged 1.96 walks per 9.0 IP (35 BB), the fourth-best mark in the National League, and did not issue more than three walks in any of his 29 starts.
Nova, 6-foot-5 and 250 pounds, has gone 78-64 with a 4.26 ERA (540 ER/1,141.2 IP) and 840 strikeouts in 202 games (189 starts) over nine seasons in the major leagues with New York-AL (2010-16) and the Pirates (2016-18).
He has thrown at least 160.0 IP in each of the last three seasons, and his average of 1.75 walks per 9.0 IP during that span ranks fifth in the majors behind only Josh Tomlin (1.03), Clayton Kershaw (1.30), Mike Leake (1.66) and Bartolo Colon (1.66). Nova went six consecutive starts without a walk from September 18, 2016-April 17, 2017, and he threw just 78 pitches in a complete-game loss on April 17, 2017 at St. Louis.
"Ivan is a quality individual who provides a veteran presence to our starting rotation and has shown the ability to consistently throw strikes," said Rick Hahn, White Sox senior vice president/general manager. "We're excited what he brings to the organization both on the field and in the clubhouse."
Nova's .788 (26-7) winning percentage through his first 50 starts was the second-highest among major-league pitchers who debuted between 1900 and 2010, trailing only Roy Oswalt (31-8, .795). His 15 consecutive wins over the 2011-12 seasons are the second-most in Yankees history behind Roger Clemens' 16 in 2001. Nova led all American League rookies in 2011 with a career-best 16 victories, the most by a Yankees rookie since Stan Bahnsen in 1968 (17).
Nova, a native of San Cristobal, D.R., originally was signed by the Yankees as a non-drafted free agent on July 15, 2004. He was traded to Pittsburgh on August 1, 2016 in exchange for two players to be named later.
Rosario, 19, was 1-4 with a 2.57 ERA (16 ER/56.0 IP) and 70 strikeouts in 14 games (11 starts) last season between the White Sox entries in the Dominican Summer League and Arizona Rookie League. He was signed by the Sox as an international free agent out of Montecristi, Dominican Republic on February 29, 2016.
The White Sox 40-man roster increases to 38.