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The Pittsburgh Pirates have one of the best players in baseball on their roster in Paul Skenes. The 2023 first overall pick started the All-Star Game as a rookie last year, and his dominance has carried over this season.
Skenes has a 2.44 ERA, a 0.94 WHIP, 62 strikeouts, and a batting average against of just .190, all of which are elite numbers and contribute to his case as the best pitcher in MLB.
However, the rest of his Pirates teammates have struggled. Pittsburgh has just a 17-33 record, and they've already fired their manager, Derek Shelton. The team even has the fewest runs (146) in the sport this year.
It has already been reported by Jon Heyman that there is no chance the Pirates would consider trading Skenes, and that shouldn't come as a surprise, as the LSU product is truly generational. Still, fanbases have wondered if there is any way the pitcher would be moved this year.
Los Angeles Dodgers fans, in particular, tend to get what they want. The team seemingly has an unlimited budget which has led to them stacking their roster with whoever they want over the last handful of seasons.
Perhaps the Dodgers could somehow finesse their way into employing Skenes, too. So what would a Skenes-to-Los Angeles trade look like if the Pirates shocked the world and decided to move their ace?
Dodgers trade proposal for Paul Skenes
Dodgers receive: Paul Skenes
Pirates receive: Dalton Rushing (MLB No. 15), Josue De Paula (MLB No. 33), Jackson Ferris (MLB No. 63), Justin Wrobleski (Dodgers No. 10)
The Dodgers are contenders year in and year out, yet they still always manage to have one of the better farm systems in baseball. On top of that, they've shown a willingness to pursue and accept the price to pay for the best players available. There has been no indication that they will slow down when it comes to pursuing superstars, either.
These factors make the Dodgers one of the more likely teams that would actually pursue Skenes. Despite their stacked roster, they actually have a need at pitcher, too, as the team's staff has been bitten by the injury bug.
Blake Snell, Roki Sasaki, Michael Kopech, Tyler Glasnow, Michael Grove, Brusdar Graterol, Edgardo Henriquez, Evan Phillips, Kyle Hurt, Gavin Stone, River Ryan, Kirby Yates, and Blake Treinen are all on the injured list right now, and reigning MVP Shohei Ohtani hasn't yet returned to live pitching.
While the team eventually got healthy enough to win the World Series last season, pitching injuries plagued the team in 2024, too. Skenes has been nothing but reliable and dominant during his young career, and he could be the co-face of the team alongside Ohtani for the next decade if the Dodgers could complete this trade.
The Dodgers have five Top 100 prospects, according to MLB.com, so they have youngsters to spare. Plus, with how much talent is on the major-league roster, consolidating for a megastar makes sense.
Should the Pirates trade Paul Skenes?
The Pirates are notorious penny pinchers, so it seems unlikely they will be able to sign Skenes to a long-term deal once he reaches free agency. But the Dodgers and their seemingly unlimited payroll would have no problem eventually handing Skenes a mega contract. The ace would round out the roster and give the Dodgers what would arguably be the most stacked roster of all time.
The Pirates will likely be trade sellers this season, but they should hold on to Skenes. The pitcher has been the only one keeping the team afloat, and although a haul of prospects can always be enticing, the Pirates are unlikely to get as much value back in a trade as they would get from Skenes going forward, especially since Skenes can't even go into arbitration till 2028.
This deal sees them land three Top 100 prospects, but that is almost not enough because Skenes is already a proven commodity as a superstar despite his limited time in the big leagues. The pitcher has shown frustration with his team's lack of success, but his MLB career is only 33 games deep, so the Pirates have plenty of time to add talent around him.
It would take a truly unbelievable offer to pry Skenes away from Pittsburgh, and this deal from the Dodgers wouldn't be it. While a Skenes trade of any sort is unlikely and doesn't make a lot of sense, a deal with the Chicago Cubs, Baltimore Orioles, or San Diego Padres for Skenes could make more sense.
