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Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes isn't thinking about signing a contract extension with the team right now. Skenes says he's focusing instead on trying to have a winning campaign in 2025 with his club.
“I haven't given it too much thought,” Skenes said in regards to a contract extension, per ESPN.
Skenes finished the 2024 season as the National League Rookie of the Year. He was also a National League All-Star, and started the All-Star game for the NL. It was a remarkable season for the hurler, who wasn't even on the 2024 Pirates Opening Day roster.
Skenes believes the team will be better this coming season, despite the Pirates not making waves in the Major League Baseball free agent market.
“The group that we have from last year is going to be better I think than we were last year,” Skenes added. “We're going to have more experience. I don't think you can overstate the impact that coaches can have on it, too, so we made some good additions there. It's not a complicated thing. It's hard to do, but it's not complicated.”
Pirates fans will soon find out how good this club will be, as spring training begins in the coming weeks.
The Pirates haven't had much to cheer about recently other than Paul Skenes
Pittsburgh has been one of the worst franchises in MLB in the last 30 years. The Pirates haven't reached the NLCS since 1992, and the team has had just a handful of winning seasons since then.
Skenes has brought a lot of excitement to the Steel City since he joined the Pirates. The former LSU baseball star struck out batters with ease this past season, and looked as poised as a 10-year veteran.
The Pirates ace finished the 2024 campaign with an 11-3 record. Skenes also posted a 1.96 ERA, while starting 23 games. He wants to throw even more this coming season.
“I'm going to be ready to throw 240 innings,” Skenes added. “It's not going to be 160 innings again. I know that. It's gonna be much more, ‘Take the ball and pitch.'”
The Pirates will likely need that much from him. Pittsburgh's payroll is one of the lowest in MLB, and the team hasn't been able to compete with other franchises for high-profile free agents. The Pirates finished the 2024 season with a 76-86 record, but remained in the playoff race until mid August. The wheels then came off for the club, and the losses started piling up.
“There's no reason we can't play fundamental baseball and execute at a very high level without having players like [Shohei Ohtani],” Skenes said. “It's not a complicated game.”
Pirates fans certainly hope that Skenes signs an extension, and stays with the team.
