Paul Skenes is arguably the best pitcher in the league even after a rough start on Opening Day to the New York Mets. So it should be no surprise that teams would have interest in the former Cy Young winner, especially teams with a lot of money like the New York Yankees.
Skenes is under contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates through the 2029 season. However, that reportedly didn’t stop the New York Yankees from pursuing him as early as last season.
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Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported Thursday that New York “tried for Skenes at the deadline but were shut down so quickly the Pirates didn’t even listen to the offer.”
Heyman said a deal might have included a combo of Cam Schlitter, Carlos Lagrange, George Lombard Jr, and Spencer Jones. The Bucs disliked the offer and never called the Yankees back.
If the rumors are true, those are some of the Yankees’ top prospects, but it makes sense for Pittsburgh to not entertain that trade. Skenes is an already proven ace in the league, and he is still young with plenty of years ahead of him.
We have seen the Pirates make trades like this in the past, and they have not paid off. A lot of times, the prospects don’t pan out, and the last thing fans in Pittsburgh want is to trade their best player for a bunch of busted prospects.
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While Heyman reported the Pirates have “no intention to trade Skenes … in the foreseeable future,” he also explained there is “little hope to sign him long term under current rules since he’ll probably be a $50 million-a-year pitcher assuming a payroll cap isn’t implemented.”
If there comes a time in the next year or two where Pittsburgh is out of the NL Central race and has no chance of making the postseason and staring at what could be a long rebuild, a package of top-notch prospects could start to look good for the franchise.