Pittsburgh — The Pittsburgh Pirates are reeling, and just about everything is on the table for a last-place team that has already fired its manager and packed a half-decade’s worth of public-relations missteps into two months.
Well, except for one thing: trading ace Paul Skenes.
Asked on Thursday if flipping the reigning National League Rookie of the Year is a consideration for a club woefully lacking in impactful position-player prospects, general manager Ben Cherington gave an atypically brief response.
“No, it’s not part of the conversation at all,” Cherington said flatly.
Pittsburgh entered a four-game series against NL Central rival Milwaukee already 11 games out of playoff position, thanks in large part to an offense that ranks last or next-to-last in nearly every major category: from runs, slugging percentage and OPS (all 30th) to home runs and batting average (both 29th).
The Pirates have also scored four runs or fewer in 26 straight games, tying a major league record set by four other teams, most recently the then-California Angels in 1969.
Not exactly what the team had in mind during spring training, when everyone from Cherington to Skenes to manager Derek Shelton – who was jettisoned two weeks ago and replaced by Don Kelly – talked about the need for Pittsburgh to take another step forward after consecutive 76-86 seasons.
Instead, the Pirates have been stuck in reverse from opening day, even when Skenes starts. Pittsburgh is just 3-5 in his eight starts, the latest loss a 1-0 setback in Philadelphia last weekend in which Skenes limited the Phillies to three hits while throwing the first complete game of his career.
Skenes, who turns 23 next week, has been all-in on the Pirates since being called up a year ago. He’s also under team control for the rest of the decade and won’t become arbitration-eligible until after 2026, making him one of the biggest bargains in the majors.
While Pittsburgh has locked down players like two-time All-Star outfielder Bryan Reynolds and third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes to long-term deals, they are a pittance by MLB standards compared to what Skenes might command one day should his career continue on its current trajectory.
The Pirates are perennially one of the most frugal teams in the majors. Their opening day payroll this season was just under $88 million. Only the Chicago White Sox, Tampa Bay, the Athletics and Miami spent less.
Even so, Pittsburgh has received little return on its investment. While the bullpen has been a bit of a mess, the starting rotation has been solid. Skenes (2.44), Mitch Keller (3.88), Andrew Heaney (2.91) and Bailey Falter (3.50) all have ERAs under 4.00, yet they also have a combined record of 11-21.
The issue has been a punchless lineup that is largely nondescript outside of Reynolds, franchise icon Andrew McCutchen and center fielder Oneil Cruz.
Yet it’s telling that while Pittsburgh has one of the deeper pool of pitching prospects in the majors – a list that includes hard-throwing 22-year-old Bubba Chandler and Mike Burrows, who was scheduled to make his first major league start on Thursday after going 2-1 with a 2.71 ERA for Triple-A Indianapolis – the cupboard of homegrown position players who are on the cusp of the majors remains pretty bare five-plus years into Cherington’s tenure.
Catcher Henry Davis, the top overall pick in the 2021 draft, remains a work in progress nearly two full years after his major league debut. Second baseman Nick Gonzales, a first-rounder in 2020, is recovering from an ankle injury and has yet to establish himself as an everyday player. Former first-round picks Termarr Johnson (2022) and Konnor Griffin (2024) are still years away.
So far, the only callups from Triple-A have been mostly injury-related, not performance-related.
“We want guys from Triple-A to pound the door down,” Cherington said. “That would be good. I still think that can happen this year. We want more of it over time. … Everybody knows we’ve got to score more runs. That’s not going to happen just by saying it and hoping for it. You’ve got to do the work to do it.”
Cherington remains optimistic that the major league team will start to turn the corner over the final 110ish games, and he’s certain Skenes will be a part of it no matter which way it goes.
“We’ve just got to get better,” Cherington said. “Let’s play better baseball, and that’s going to lead to winning more games. Then, let’s wake up and see where that takes us when we get to July.”
Yankees join Tigers with 30 wins
New York — Carlos Rodón pitched six innings of two-hit ball for his fifth straight win, and the surging New York Yankees beat the Texas Rangers 1-0 on Thursday to complete a three-game sweep.
New York rookie Jorbit Vivas hit his first major league homer off Texas starter Nathan Eovaldi (4-3) in the fifth.
The Yankees earned their fourth straight victory and won for the 11th time in 14 games. New York became the second American League team to reach 30 wins this season, joining the Detroit Tigers.
Rodón (6-3) allowed a single to Josh Jung three batters in and a double to Sam Haggerty in the third. It was the fourth time in 11 starts this season the left-hander permitted two hits or fewer.
Rodón struck out eight while pitching in short sleeves even though the game-time temperature was 50 degrees. It was the fifth time this year he pitched with a first-pitch temperature of 55 degrees or lower.
Eovaldi allowed one run and five hits in six innings. He struck out six, walked one and had his three-game winning streak stopped.
Mark Leiter Jr. stranded two runners in the seventh and Devin Williams pitched a perfect eighth to continue his turnaround. Luke Weaver worked a 1-2-3 ninth for his seventh save.
Guardians activate center fielder Thomas
Detroit — Cleveland Guardians center fielder Lane Thomas was activated from the 10-day injured list on Thursday and was in the lineup against the AL-best Detroit Tigers.
Thomas, a postseason star for Cleveland in 2024, had been on the IL since April 20 with a bruised right wrist. He was hit by a pitch on April 8 and played in five more games before going on the IL. Thomas has broken the same wrist twice after being hit by pitches.
Cleveland put outfielder Will Brennan on the 10-day IL with left forearm inflammation. He was hitting .091 in 11 games this season.
The Guardians acquired Thomas last July in a trade with Washington, and he became a key player in October after a so-so regular season.
Thomas hit two homers in the AL Division Series against Detroit, connecting for a grand slam in Game 5 off Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal to help the Guardians advance.
Angels’ Ward hits another grand slam
West Sacramento, Calif. — Taylor Ward hit a go-ahead grand slam, Logan O’Hoppe also homered in a five-run seventh inning and the Los Angeles Angels rallied past the skidding Athletics 10-5 on Thursday for their seventh consecutive victory.
Ward and O’Hoppe both connected off reliever Grant Holman (4-1), sending the A’s to their ninth loss in a row. O’Hoppe had four homers in the series.
It was the second go-ahead slam in 10 days for Ward, who finished with three hits and five RBIs. He has an extra-base hit in eight straight games – one shy of the club record set by Darin Erstad in 1998.
Ward has 17 RBIs in his last 10 games. He and O’Hoppe each have 14 homers this season. Zach Neto also had three of Los Angeles’ 13 hits.
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