With the Pittsburgh Pirates led by Paul Skenes heading into the 2026 offseason, there had been massive speculation on whether the team would either trade the star pitcher for more capital or build around him. Despite the rumors around the Pirates and Skenes, it seems like a foregone conclusion that he will be built around, but how much will the ball club open their wallets?
As Pittsburgh has relatively been cheap in the past, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic would report that the team, along with the Miami Marlins, “are showing a greater interest in spending than in the past.” It's not just the reporting, but general manager Ben Cherington would also tout the “flexibility” the team has at the moment.
“We’ve got more flexibility than we’ve had in other offseasons I’ve been in Pittsburgh,” Cherington said. “There’s a combination of reasons for that. I don’t know exactly where the final number will land, and often don’t – that evolves, even going into the next year.”
“But I feel confident that we’ll have a little more flexibility than we’ve had in other offseasons, and we’re going to do everything we can to put that to use, through trade, through free agency, combination, add to the team as much as we can,” Cherington continued.
Pirates won't even listen to offers surrounding Paul Skenes
As the baseball world and fans have been begging the Pirates to keep Skenes and invest in the team, it does appear that the franchise will do just that. One person who said that Pittsburgh should hold on to the young star in Skenes is insider Jeff Passan, saying that fans “want a reason to go to the ballpark,” with the pitcher being the main focus.
“That's all Pirates fans want. They want a reason to go to the ballpark,” Passan said on The Pat McAfee Show. “They want to feel like ownership cares as much as they do, and right now, that's just not the case. But in this offseason, you sure can make the case that it is. It's right there for the taking for the Pirates, and the eternal question for that organization is, ‘will they?'”
"You've gotta give the fans a reason to go to the ball park and that's all Pirates fans want..
They want to feel like ownership cares as much as they do" ~ @JeffPassan #PMSLive https://t.co/57rs5ZqCd9 pic.twitter.com/Ht45aPF9bO
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) September 25, 2025
If there needed to be more convincing, Bob Nightengale of USA Today would say that the team “won't even listen” to offers on Skenes.
“The Pirates won’t even listen to trade proposals for Skenes, so don’t bother calling,” Nightengale wrote.
At any rate, the Pirates are looking to improve after finishing 71-91 last season.
