Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Ben Cherington addressed recent speculation regarding the future of National League Cy Young award winner Paul Skenes.
Skenes is easily the most electrifying and buzzworthy pitcher in baseball on and off the field.
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With a flaming throwing right arm that can put ridiculous spin on a ball and his influencer star girlfriend, Livvy Dunne, Skenes is known for grabbing headlines and is poised to be the future of the sport for years to come.
Due to his rising stardom, people around baseball are connecting him to trades away from his current small-market team to a big media market like New York.
Despite the chatter, amid the general managers’ meeting, Cherington made it clear that the Pirates’ franchise player will not get dealt.
“He is going to be a Pirate in 2026,” Cherington said.
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NJ Advance Media reported that a teammate of Skenes said that the pitcher was “hoping for a trade” and that he “wants to play for the Yankees.”
In response to the rumors, Skenes told reporters on Wednesday that he wants to win in Pittsburgh, dumping another cold bucket of water on the rumor mill.
“The way that fans see us outside of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh is not supposed to win,” Skenes said, per Christian Arnold of the New York Post.
“There are 29 fan bases that expect us to lose. I want to be a part of the 26 guys that change that. Forty-six years without a World Series championship.
“This is why I’m going to show up to the ballpark, and I’m going to work to get everybody pushing in the same direction. I know there are other guys who are going to do the same. That’s all the truth.”
There is some reason to the Pirates dealing Skenes, especially since he can command a franchise-changing prospect package that would give the team quality depth.
Considering how much he means to the team, a trade seems untenable for now; however, if Skenes ever forces the issue, the organization will need to think about it.
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