With the Pittsburgh Pirates in perpetual purgatory, Paul Skenes has seen his name come up in trade rumors. However, the Pirates don't plan on doing anything drastic.
Pittsburgh won't be trading Skenes anytime soon, at least in general manager Ben Cherington's eyes. When discussing his ace's immediate future, Cherrington sent a blunt message, via Robert Murray of FanSided.
“He is going to be a Pirate in 2026,” Cherington said of Skenes.
The right-hander is under team control through the 2029 season making pre-arbitration money. Pittsburgh would get one of the biggest trade hauls in MLB history for his services. And with the Pirates not having made the playoffs since 2015, it would give the team a new foundation to build on.
However, the Pirates would rather have Skenes lead their rebuild rather than deal him away. Which makes sense considering what the right has done in his brief MLB career. Over his 55 starts with the team, Skenes has recorded a 1.96 ERA and a 386/74 K/BB ratio.
After being named Rookie of the Year in 2024, Skenes was named a Cy Young finalist in 2025. Whether or not he wins the award, he put on a show. Skenes held a league-wide low 1.97 ERA and a 216/42 K/BB ratio.
With back-to-back All-Star appearances, Skenes has immediately become the face of a franchise that hasn't had much to cheer about. Trading him away may help the team in the long-run, but it would also sour fans on the current state of the team. Skenes is a homegrown prospect and not many of the best pitchers in the league have played for Pittsburgh.
If things continue to stay murky for the Pirates, perhaps they revisit a trade. But until further notice, expect Skenes to be pitching in Pittsburgh for the foreseeable future.
