Despite it not being very likely, it’s always fun to dive into a Paul Skenes trade idea. This mock trade talks about the possibility of Skenes being dealt to the Detroit Tigers from the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The trade idea we’ll be breaking down today is from Anthony Castrovince’s recent article on MLB.com called “7 ridiculous trades we’d like to see”. That bit of context is important because while a Skenes trade already seems unlikely, this deal is more a fun, what-if, than it is realistic.
With that out of the way, let’s break down the full mock trade below and analyze if it would make sense for all three teams.
This is a PREDICTION, not a REPORT.
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Pittsburgh Pirates Trading Paul Skenes to the Detroit Tigers
The mock trade that Castrovince creates is a bit complex, as it involves three teams. On one side, “Mets get: LHP Tarik Skubal” while the “Tigers get: RHP Paul Skenes” then the “Pirates get: SS/OF/2B Jett Williams (Mets’ No. 3 prospect), RHP Jonah Tong (Mets’ No. 4 prospect), 3B/1B Jacob Reimer (Mets’ No. 6 prospect), OF Max Clark (Tigers’ No. 2 prospect), SS Bryce Rainer (Tigers’ No. 4 prospect)”.
There’s a lot to unpack within this mock trade as things get complicated fast. Starting with the Pirates, this would be a haul that’s worth them moving on from Skenes.
The Pirates are quite some time away from contending, and they’re not in need of just one player. Trading away Skenes could give them a solid core that they can build around rather than trying to make things work with just one star player.
As for the Mets, they’re the ones taking on the most risk in the deal. With Tarik Skubal set to become a free agent in 2026, they’re potentially sacrificing a ton of long-term value for just one year if they don’t bring him back.
At the same time, Skubal is arguably the best pitcher in baseball, if not Skenes. If the Mets really believe they’re one player away from winning the World Series, it wouldn’t shock me to see this deal go down.
Although the Mets roster is better than what they showed winning 83 games, it’s still hard to put them right next to teams such as the New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays, and Los Angeles Dodgers.
Does Paul Skenes Fit with the Detroit Tigers?
Going back to the Tigers, Skenes absolutely fits with their roster. They would keep elite pitching at the top of their rotation except for significantly longer.
With many believing that the Tigers won’t be able to bring back Skubal, the idea of a trade has become a lot more popular. With that in mind, the Tigers need more than just elite pitching, and their playoff loss showed that.
Skenes shouldn’t be that big of an upgrade if any over Skubal, but the Tigers would be losing so many potential offensive weapons. With all the moving parts, it’s tough to gauge exactly, but the Tigers are better holding onto their weapons and just trading Skubal for a pitcher that’s a lot less expensive than Skenes.
Paul Skenes Contract
It’s important to briefly touch on Skene’s contract because that is one of the biggest reasons he’s going to have such a massive market. Per Spotrac, Skenes doesn’t become a free agent until 2030.
While this trade idea sounded a bit crazy on the surface, it’s not as impossible as you might think. Although the Detroit Tigers likely wouldn’t be able to give up this much even for Paul Skenes, it’s an interesting mock trade.