MLB trade rumors: Yankees trying to trade Ivan Nova and the Marlins might be interested

The Yankees have traded Aroldis Chapman for a sizable haul, but there seems to be uncertainty about who else might be made available in trades. Now that Brian Cashman has acquired shortstop prospect Gleyber Torres, Adam Warren, and outfield prospects Billy McKinney and Rashad Crawford, he seems to be testing the waters with another asset. According to Buster Olney, rival executives have mentioned that the Yankees are currently "pushing" Nova in trade talks as Cashman tries to gauge interest in preparation for a possible fire sale.

Mark Feinsand says Nova is their next priority to trade before he becomes a free agent, and the Marlins have asked about Nova's availability. Miami, desperate for pitching after losing Wei-Yin Chen to an arm injury, found the price for Nova to be higher than expected. Feinsand's source mentions that the Yankees "know what the pitching market looks like right now and they're trying to capitalize on that." After getting what they did for Chapman, it's easy to see why they might be looking at what other pitching they can trade.

Nova's 4.65 ERA and 4.84 FIP make it easy to wonder who would want that, but you'd be surprised what other teams are rolling with these days. The minimal production that Nova has brought would actually be an improvement for the Giants over Jake Peavy and Matt Cain, the Astros over Mike Fiers, and the Royals over Yordano Ventura. Then there's the whole matter of him being able to serve as a team's swingman between the rotation and the bullpen. Right now he's at a career-best 54.9% ground ball rate and 2.13 BB/9, and has been fairly consistent, despite a disastrous month of June. If a team is looking for some backend rotation help that could actually keep them in games, Nova wouldn't be too bad of a guy to pick.

He might be a particularly good fit in the National League with the Giants, who play in a spacious ballpark that could hide Nova's fly ball tendencies. They currently seem to have very little in the way of pitching depth and they are currently losing their grip on the NL West to the Dodgers. Nova would be a super easy move to make, unlikely to cost very much to acquire, and it would push Peavy or Cain out of the rotation.

The Yankees aren't looking to trade the likes of Andrew Miller or Carlos Beltran yet, but Nova seems like a move similar to Chapman, in that they can make a deal and Hal can still pretend they are going to compete. With the addition of Adam Warren into the mix, they could stand to lose Nova and move Warren back into the rotation where he did well last season. If they are also serious about putting Luis Severino in the bullpen for now, they have no use for Nova at all.

It seems like this could be a trade that moves quickly if anyone becomes interested. He would cost very little and is only owed another $1.55 million for the rest of the season. A team on a budget might go for that. After the miracle Cashman pulled in the Chapman trade, getting anything of value for Nova would be a fantastic way to enter full-sell mode.