Subscribe
Follow Us
There's no doubt that the biggest conversation around the Pittsburgh Pirates has been the trade speculation of Paul Skenes, one that comes after another frustrating season for the team. While the Pirates shut down any rumors involving a Skenes trade, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic takes a look at the variables surrounding one if it came to fruition.
While it already seemed pretty unlikely that a Skenes trade would be made before the trade deadline, Rosenthal lists three obstacles for The Athletic that are in the way of one. The first is the status of the Pittsburgh general manager, Bob Cherington, especially after the team fired manager Derek Shelton earlier.
“If Cherington is not going to be the GM beyond this season, then why the heck would Nutting trust him to move Skenes?” Rosenthal asked. “Cherington, following the dismissal of manager Derek Shelton on May 8, might only be safe because teams generally refrain from changing heads of baseball operations in the middle of the season. Thus, Cherington also will preside over the draft, a daunting thought considering that since taking over in November 2019, he has yet to produce a homegrown star position player.”
Another obstacle Rosenthal mentioned is the message a Skenes trade would send, though he would mention that whether they trade the star pitcher or not, the team is heading into their seventh straight losing season, with more likely coming. Rosenthal would mention that a right trade would include the Boston Red Sox's top prospects, among other assets.
Pirates' Paul Skenes would have to pull “extreme value”
While people have come up with different trades involving the Pirates' star in Skenes, one has to wonder the “extreme value” that he would be worth, as Rosenthal mentions as an obstacle. Due to not just how elite of a pitcher he is, but also the affordability of his contract, it adds even more value, as Rosenthal feels the only deals Pittsburgh should consider are ones that “beat the return” for Juan Soto in 2022.
“Skenes is under club control for five pennant races,” Rosenthal wrote. “To justify the move, the Pirates would need to beat the return for Soto, and not by a little. Even if contenders were willing to empty their farm systems for Skenes, as they almost certainly would be, how many would even have enough talent to make a deal happen?”
“Skenes’ affordability only adds to his value,” Rosenthal continued. “His current salary is $875,000. He will be pre-arbitration again next season. And even in arbitration, no pitcher outside of two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani has earned more than $20 million in a single season. Skenes likely would need to win multiple Cy Young Awards to establish new precedents. His surplus value, then, is likely to remain high throughout the process.”
At any rate, the Pirates are currently 17-34, which puts them last in the NL Central as they are in the midst of a series against the Milwaukee Brewers.
