Ex-Mets GM delivers clear message on Paul Skenes amid trade speculation

Rumors continue to swirl around Paul Skenes' future. It has barely been a full calendar year since Skenes debuted in the MLB, but there are already calls for the Pittsburgh Pirates to trade their ace.

They've fired their manager and seem to have no direction. The losses continue to pile up in what is already a lost season, but former MLB GM Steve Phillips doesn't think it's time to abandon ship.

The former New York Mets executive said:

"I don't think that the Pirates are going to trade Skenes. I wouldn't, if I were them. You can get that deal at any point over the next six years, so I would hold on to him. They've gotta try and find a way to win. I think he's a drawing card for them, he's the centerpiece of their team. If they have any chance to win, it's going to be with good pitching and scoring enough.

"I can't even consider trading Skenes now, because whatever anyone offers me today, I can get that two years from now, three years from now, even four years from now, you're still going to rock the world with that deal, I don't know if I'd pull the trigger now."

Team control is very valuable to MLB teams, but Phillips thinks Skenes is good enough to offset a lost year of control if the Pirates do wait, which he advised them to do.

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MLB insider says no Paul Skenes trade is coming

It would be almost unprecedented for Paul Skenes to be traded now. He still has five years of team control left and is very cheap. He just won the NL Rookie of the Year and is in the mix for the Cy Young this year. A player of his caliber at his age/service time has virtually never been traded in any sport.

That isn't likely to change. MLB insider Jon Heyman revealed that he heard from a source that there's "no way" the Pirates move on from their ace. Despite what others have said, the Pirates have no desire to trade a generational pitcher.

Paul Skenes is unlikely to be traded now (Imagn)

Teams would throw everything they have at the Pirates to get Skenes. The original Juan Soto trade would be nothing compared to this hypothetical deal, but it's unlikely to happen.