MLB Trade Rumors: 5 players Astros should acquire

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May 9, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Ivan Nova (46) throws the ball in the second inning of the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports /

Ivan Nova, RHP, Pirates

Starting pitching is by and large the biggest need for the Astros, so we’ll concentrate heavily on pitching options here. Quintana is seemingly the team’s top priority given the amount of ink that has been devoted to the team and player since winter, but the White Sox are patient and seem willing to wait out the perfect offer.

Houston isn’t likely to add two big name starters (and doesn’t have a deep enough farm system to land two top options), and though Ken Rosenthal recently pointed to Pirates starter Gerrit Cole as an option for the Astros, he’s likely to command a trade value similar to Quintana’s, if not higher.

However, another Pirates starter might be easier to acquire, even if he’s pitched better than Cole this season. Ivan Nova has been a tremendously successful find for the Bucs, who brought him in from the Yankees in a trade deadline deal last year and signed him to a three-year deal in December that runs through the end of 2019.

Simply put, Nova has been one of the best pitchers in the National League so far in 2017. The 30-year-old right-hander has a 2.48 ERA with two complete games and one shutout in eight starts. Nova has just 33 strikeouts (he succeeds on command instead of blowing hitters away), but has allowed just four walks in 54.1 innings.

Though the Pirates have earned a reputation for acquiring reclamation projects and turning them into serviceable-to-very good major league starters, Nova would likely be just as successful in Houston as he is in Pittsburgh. Nova has posted a 49.1 percent ground ball rate in 2017, which ranks No. 25 among qualified starters this season, so he shouldn’t surrender an inordinate amount of home runs at bandbox-y Minute Maid Park.

Pittsburgh is also an ideal trade partner because of the potential to put together a mega deal that might also include a player like Andrew McCutchen or Josh Harrison, who might be available if the Bucs decide to tear their roster down completely. Of course, that would end up costing more than Quintana, and is therefore pretty unlikely to happen.

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