Bleacher Report\u2019s Zachary Rymer <\/a>proposed a trade idea that would send Skenes to the Cubs to revamp their rotation.<\/p>\nRymer listed the Pirates\u2019 return as third baseman Matt Shaw, right-handed pitcher Cade Horton, and outfielder Owen Caissie. All three are top-five prospects in the Cubs\u2019 organization.<\/p>\n
![\"Chicago](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/1747428851_58_ebc56afe4415a77d7e3374c141bb28a3.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\n
Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell (11) observes batting practice before the game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park.Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images<\/p>\n
\u201cSustaining the Cubs has been an offense that leads MLB in scoring even without much help from Shaw, who has a .610 OPS to show for 77 plate appearances, \u201c Rymer wrote.<\/p>\n
Advertisement<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is, therefore, an acceptable sacrifice, and ditto for Horton if it means putting Skenes in his place.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although a trade for Skenes would be ideal for the Cubs, Rymer acknowledges that a deal of that magnitude is easier said than done.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s an iffy proposition, particularly given that the Pirates could potentially balk at the return,\u201d wrote Rymer.<\/p>\n
\u201cShaw has shown a ton of swing-and-miss at the major league level, while Horton is coming off an injury-marred year in the minors.\u201d<\/p>\n
For the Cubs, acquiring Skenes with several years of control may apply even more pressure on the front office to extend outfielder Kyle Tucker, or reach a deal with him when he reaches free agency at the end of the season.<\/p>\n
Related: Jed Hoyer Reveals Cubs Trade Deadline Plans With Questions Mounting<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After the Pittsburgh Pirates\u2019 poor start to 2025, the fanbase wonders what the front office will do with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11428,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2402],"tags":[5,735,24,393,29,19,716,4,14725,9677,877,10,776,64,4297,770,14726,14724],"class_list":{"0":"post-46905","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-pittsburgh-pirates","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-cade-horton","10":"tag-chicago-cubs","11":"tag-justin-steele","12":"tag-kyle-tucker","13":"tag-major-league-baseball","14":"tag-matt-shaw","15":"tag-mlb","16":"tag-national-league-cy-young-award","17":"tag-owen-caissie","18":"tag-paul-skenes","19":"tag-pirates","20":"tag-pittsburgh","21":"tag-pittsburgh-pirates","22":"tag-pittsburghpirates","23":"tag-shota-imanaga","24":"tag-trade-discussions","25":"tag-zachary-rymer"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/114553105130744520","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46905","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46905"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46905\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11428"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46905"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46905"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46905"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}