During this past offseason, the Pittsburgh Pirates trade pitcher Ivan Nova to the Chicago White Sox. Nova was projected to be the Bucs’ fifth starter for the 2019 season before being dealt away. The main reason being that the Nova was due a salary of $9 million and entering the final year of his contract.
So to replace Nova, the team had three logical candidates entering spring training. The two in-house options are Nick Kingham and Steven Brault. The free agent the team brought in is right-handed pitcher Jordan Lyles.