The Pittsburgh Pirates are heading toward one of the most important decisions in franchise history, and it’s all centered around Paul Skenes. The right-hander is by far one of the best young arms in Major League Baseball, and there’s already a strong argument that he’s among the best pitchers in the game. Outside of perhaps one or two names, there aren\u2019t many arms across the league that teams would take over the Pirates\u2019 ace.<\/p>\n
After signing Konnor Griffin to an extension worth $140 million over nine years, some Pirates fans are hopeful that Skenes will be the next in line. There hasn’t been any indication that a contract is coming for Skenes, but there was somewhat of an update from Jason Mackey.<\/p>\n
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\u201cPreviously, Skenes\u2019 stance has been that winning takes priority. Contract stuff is a non-topic until that happens. But let\u2019s say the Pirates have a great season and make the playoffs. Don\u2019t you at least have to have that conversation? The problem becomes timing. Skenes will be three years from free agency after 2026. How many free-agent years would Skenes be willing to give up? And at what cost?<\/p>\n
\u201cGiven what he\u2019s accomplished so far, he should far exceed Gerrit Cole (nine years, $324 million) and Yoshinobu Yamamoto (12 years, $325 million) when it comes to total free-agent dollars for a pitcher not named Shohei Ohtani. We’ve also seen three pitchers cross the $40 million-a-year mark when it comes to average annual value, including Zack Wheeler ($42 million) as recently as March 2024. Buying out those years would not be cheap, the same for arbitration awards that probably have a different starting point after Tarik Skubal\u2019s record deal this winter ($32 million).<\/p>\n