Apr 6, 2017 By Alan Saunders for The 4 min read

If you look up the 2016 New York Yankees starting rotation on Opening Day, you won’t find Ivan Nova’s name. Nova, who had made 113 starts in the first six years of his Yankees career, had been relegated to the bullpen after sporting a 5.07 ERA in 2015.

This year, he’ll start in Pittsburgh for the Pirates’ home opener Friday at PNC Park. It’s a long way from the Yankees’ bullpen to the Pirates’ rotation, but as soon as Nova came over to the Pirates, everything seemed to click for the 30-year-old right-hander.

Nova came up in the Yankees’ system with Francisco Cervelli and the comfort level between the two was evident when reunited with the Pirates in 2016. Nova also quickly embraced the work of pitching coach Ray Searage, and the combination of a new coach and his old catcher helped Nova find a place that he hadn’t been to for very much of his major-league career.

In 11 starts with the Pirates in 2016, he posted a 3.06 ERA, averaged nearly six innings per start and struck out 52 while walking only three batters. Those were numbers that turned some heads.

“It got our attention early,” manager Clint Hurdle said. “You think ‘Wow, how much of this he did do before this?’ We went and looked at a lot of games that he pitched before. We got the best bulk of work that he’s ever done. … He’s pitched extremely well. He’s fit in extremely well. He’s mentored extremely well. He’s always looking to learn.”

After the productive second half of his 2016 season, Nova became a free agent and was free to test the market and sign for any team he liked. It turned out that team was the Pirates, as Nova made it a priority to re-sign with the team that had been the home of so much of his success. The Pirates desperately needed to add to their young pitching staff for this season, and while they were not able to get Jose Quintana or any of the other big-name targets they sought, retaining Nova may end up having just as big of an impact.

“It’s unbelievable,” Gerrit Cole said. “Any time you can add a veteran presence, any time you can add quality innings, quality experience, good clubhouse guy, great leader; those are attributes that any team is looking for and can be an upgrade at any position. Fortunately, we had the opportunity to bring him back and we’re really excited for it.”

While the Pirates’ rotation didn’t get the ace general manager Neal Huntington was looking for last off-season, Nova thinks they’re still poised to do big things thanks to the group of talented young pitchers that will join him in the starting five.

“We don’t have those type of big name guys,” he said. “In the papers, everybody can choose who is going to win. At the end of the day, we have to go out there and perform. We’ve got a lot of guys that are capable of doing that, young guys with a lot of talent. It’s going to be a fun season.”

The positive relationships that he developed with players like Cole, Jameson Taillon and Chad Kuhl during the 2016 season is another reason that Nova is happy to be back in black and gold.

“The excitement that you see on those guys coming in here every day motivates you to keep going as a group,” Nova said. “I’ve seen a lot of guys over the past couple of years, opening day is right around the corner, that are anxious about what’s going to happen. You see these guys relaxing, because they trust themselves that they can do a good job out there.”

Hurdle obviously showed trust in Nova’s abilities by naming him the starter for the home opener, and while he cautioned that 11 starts don’t make for a long sample, he sees good things in the future from the veteran of his staff.

“He’s in a good place. He loves to compete,” Hurdle said. “There’s a comfort on the mound with a conviction to pitch, which is fun to watch.”