For some time, Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes has been the subject of trade rumors. And recently, Tarik Skubal, the Detroit Tigers' star pitcher, has also found himself floated as a potential trade target as the time for a new contract draws near.
While any team in MLB would be happy to add either Skenes or Skubal, though, that isn't happening this offseason, according to USA Today's Bob Nightengale.
“The Pirates won’t even listen to trade proposals for Skenes, so don’t bother calling,” Nightengale wrote.
“The Tigers will at least listen on Skubal, but would have to be completely overwhelmed. Considering that teams know that he won’t sign an extension and plans to hit free agency in a year commanding the biggest deal or [sic] a pitcher in history, no one will dare up [sic] give up more than two top-10 prospects. The Tigers are expected to hang onto him until at least the July 2026 trade deadline.”
Although the Pirates have been one of the worst and least competitive franchises in MLB, trading Skenes, one of the best pitchers in baseball, would be extraordinarily foolish and considered organizational malpractice.
Because Skenes debuted last season, he has just two years of service under his belt at the moment, meaning he has yet to hit arbitration. And once he does that, the Pirates can trade him and his very valuable deal or, as most teams do, go to arbitration with him until he hits six years of service.
After the 2029 season, Skenes would be eligible for unrestricted free agency. But if he remains healthy, the Pirates almost certainly will have traded him to the highest bidder by then, thus avoiding what would likely be a record-breaking contract extension
That's about the place Skubal and the Tigers are arriving right now.
Next season will mark Skubal's sixth year of service, and with him expected to win his second straight AL Cy Young Award shortly, he will, barring a severe injury in 2026, be a white-hot commodity on the open market. And the Tigers, as a result, could choose to trade him before that happens.
If it doesn't come to fruition this offseason, as Nightengale believes, Skubal's name will continue to be batted around as a potential trade target until the deadline.
