“Paul Skenes is going to be a Pirate in 2026,” general manager Ben Cherington said. Christian Petersen / Getty Images
LAS VEGAS — The Pittsburgh Pirates won’t trade ace and 2025 National League Cy Young Award favorite Paul Skenes this offseason, general manager Ben Cherington said Tuesday afternoon.
Cherington said he routinely gets probed about the availability of the 23-year-old right-hander, who is widely viewed as the best young starter in the game.
“The question gets asked,” Cherington said at the MLB general managers meetings at The Cosmopolitan hotel. “It’s always respectful. Teams have to ask the question, right? I suspect that won’t end. But the answer has been consistent.”
Cherington added trade discussions about Skenes are always “short conversations” until they turn into the sides “talking about something else.”
“Paul Skenes is going to be a Pirate in 2026,” the Pittsburgh GM said.
2025 PitchingNinja K Strut of the Year. 🏆
Winner: Paul Skenes
Walks slowly off the mound, surveying his kingdom. 🦁
Finished his season with 6 shutout innings and a 1.97 ERA.
Dominance. Swagger. Excellence. pic.twitter.com/9aWWbXJxJ0
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) November 11, 2025
Skenes went 10-10 with an MLB-best 1.97 ERA in 32 starts in 2025, his second major-league season. He also led the NL with a 0.948 WHIP. But the Pirates finished in last place, going 71-91. They haven’t built a competitive roster around Skenes and seem unlikely to pay what it may take to keep him in Pittsburgh long term.
Trading Skenes would likely net the Pirates a boatload of prospects in return. There would be no shortage of suitors if Pittsburgh were to make him available in trade talks.
Skenes, last year’s NL Rookie of the Year, won’t be arbitration-eligible until 2027 and won’t hit free agency until 2030.
Pittsburgh had the fourth-lowest luxury-tax payroll in 2025 at $84.4 million, according to Spotrac.
Nov 12, 2025
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