Ever since the Paul Skenes trade rumors hit the headlines, you must have pictured him in Pinstripes. Best to believe that the New York Yankees wanted it, too. After all, Skenes came into the big leagues with hype. But now, he has exceeded it.
In his rookie season, he recorded a 1.96 ERA. Coming to 2025, he was established as one of the greatest pitchers. Right now, he’s holding steady at 2.44, and as per FanGraphs, he’s inching closer towards a 5+ WAR season. Carrying an elite arm and solid record, nearly every team in the league has been rumored to want him.
However, the Yankees, with most speculations of wanting him, have just been told their realistic chances of getting Skenes. Wondering when it was unrealistic? Ever since they signed Juan Soto and sacrificed their trade assets. So, they’ve nothing to offer to the Pirates. Cause a trade of this magnitude is expensive.
However, the Yankees can breathe easy now. Because Ken Rosenthal has just dropped a major update on Skenes.
“I do not see it happening this year. Paul Skenes is under club control for 4 more years after this one. The Pirates have many problems, and of course, they need to solve those problems. But I don’t think trading Paul Skenes is the way to do it.” Well, true. It IS very unlikely that the Pirates will let Skenes go.
With all the mounting issues with the Pirates, Rosenthal just offered one advice that the team might not be ready to take. “The way to do it… is to spend money and build a team around him. Now, I don’t expect the Pirates to do that, which is why you’re going to hear these questions about Skenes.” At this point, we have all been no strangers to how the Pirates’ ownership functions — unwillingness to spend on players.
While they still have 4 years of control over Skenes, it’s true that they might be inclined towards trading him before his contract ends. But definitely not immediately… That being said, the Yankees have nothing to worry about right away…
And well, there’s a reason why the Pirates are likely not to let Skenes go this year. Can you ignore the tough spot they are in right now?
Skenes’ market value is peaking while the Pirates’ slump continues
The Pirates are likely to be away from any trade discussions involving Skenes until the very last moment. However, with each passing year, they are wasting his prime time. Ideally, it would be smarter and more effective if they would trade him soon while he’s a megastar in his early 20s.
When it comes to his price tag, the word out there has been that he could be a $500-$600 million pitcher in free agency. Now, tbh, the Pirates are never going to spend that much. Moreover, many teams might not be able to afford that. So, if not this year, the Pirates might decide to trade him next year. And that will be for the best…
Currently in this league, the Pirates have the thinnest offensive lineups. And to be real, they are not going to drastically curate a winning team around Skenes. So, naturally, the team is underutilizing him.
Adding to your belief, Robert Murray from FanSided put things in perspective, “The reality, however, is that Nutting is bound to waste Skenes’ prime unless he significantly increases his spending.” And that might be it. Ownership approach and Bob Nutting thinking only about profits, again!
But Nutting might be okay being ‘mediocre’, Skenes is not. So, there should not be any surprise if we see him change the ship as soon as the shore hits.
So, it might be high time that the Pirates either build a team around him till he’s in Pittsburgh or just be smart enough to let him go and not waste his prime era. What do you think the team should do?
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