Ivan Nova was placed on the 10-day disabled list with a strained ligament in his right ring finger, and Nick Kingham was recalled from Triple-A to start for the Pirates Tuesday against the Cubs, the team announced Monday morning.
Nova was hopeful the injury would heal in time for him to take his turn in the rotation; however, Clint Hurdle and Todd Tomczyk, the Pirates' director of sports medicine, told reporters the team thought it was in Nova's best interest to rest the finger. Kingham, 26, was removed from Indianapolis' game Friday after only one inning, which was designed to serve as a bullpen session in preparation for his fourth start in the majors this season.
"I’m sure you guys have looked into it," Tomczyk said. "Ivan wasn’t really Ivan. He’s not using this as an excuse. There is a medical condition in that ring finger that has been causing impairment. ... There’s something there he needs to take some time off and build himself back up."
Nova suffered the injury while fielding a ground ball during his start against the Tigers April 26 at PNC Park, but he said the pain didn't become an issue until after his start against the Reds last Thursday, when he allowed four earned runs in 5 1/3 innings. He now has a 7.61 ERA over his last five starts and opponents are batting .355 with an .988 OPS against him during that span. He’s also allowed 10.7 hits per nine innings — his worst mark since 2014 — and 10 home runs in 11 starts.
Kingham has a 0.76 WHIP in three starts for the Pirates, retiring the first 20 batters he faced in his major league debut against the Cardinals April 29. He then gave up four earned runs in 5 1/3 innings against the Brewers before being sent back to Triple-A because the Pirates opted to utilize a four-man rotation until Joe Musgrove returned from the disabled list.
Nova, signed through next season at a $9.167 million annual salary, has struggled with consistency since the start of last season. He blamed a lingering knee injury for his struggles in the second half last season – including a 1.63 WHIP and 5.83 ERA in 13 starts — and lost 10 pounds in the offseason to better prepare himself to contribute from front to finish for the Pirates in 2018.
However, he’s struggled in May for a second consecutive season, failing to pitch through the sixth inning in four of five starts. Nova didn’t want to blame the finger injuries for his struggles. Although he said it’s impacted his curveball — opponents are still batting only .160 against the pitch and its spin rate has only dropped slightly from last season — he doesn’t think the injury has prevented him from executing pitches.
Hurdle, though, indicated the finger has indeed hindered Nova's ability to throw his curveball and changeup.
"We were best served taking this route," Hurdle said. "There was no significant improvement. Even if there was, this was still in our back pocket. We want to put him in the best position that we can to come back 100 percent healthy, for that finger to be 100 percent healthy. There’s no complications with his spin pitch or his changeup, so he can be more like the guy that had the first five starts than the pitcher that’s gone out there with probably not all his weapons the last five."
Since Kingham was optioned to Triple-A only eight days ago, the Pirates had to place Nova on the disabled list in order for Kingham to be available to start Tuesday. Steven Brault was an option to make a spot start, but he pitched against the Cardinals Sunday and is one of only two left-handers in the Pirates' bullpen.
With Nova's disabled list stint being retroactive to May 25, he's likely to miss only one start.