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Having won the prestigious NL Rookie of the Year award after a fantastic debut season in 2024, Paul Skenes has backed his credentials by being even better this year. At the moment, Skenes has a 1.94 ERA and 125 total strikeouts, but due to a lack of run support, has a 4-7 record.
With the Pittsburgh Pirates enduring yet another difficult season, sitting bottom of the NL Central with a 38-53 record, they are set to enter the trade deadline as sellers yet again. Naturally, plenty of franchises would be more than happy to take Paul Skenes off their hands.
However, according to insider Jeff Passan, though there may well be a mass exodus from PNC Park this month, Paul Skenes is not going to be among those departing. He said as much on "SportsCenter" on Monday:
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"29 other teams would love to have Paul Skenes in their rotation, but the only team that's going to have him [beyond July] is the Pittsburgh Pirates, because they have no intention or desire to trade him.
"Ke'Bryan Hayes, available, Bryan Reynolds, available, David Bednar, Dennis Santana, Andrew Heaney, go up and down the list of Pittsburgh Pirates, they're all available.
"The only one really not available is Skenes. Through his career, [Skenes] has 249 innings, and a 1.95 ERA. He has been everything that the Pittsburgh Pirates hoped he would be, wanted him to be. Unfortunately, his teammates around him cannot say the same." [1:51]
Paul Skenes pitches another gem shortly after making franchise history
Earlier in July, Paul Skenes was confirmed to have earned his second All-Star selection. In doing so, he became the first pitcher in Pittsburgh Pirates history to earn All-Star selections in his first two years at the big league level.
It did not take Skenes long to prove what all the hype surrounding him was about, as he pitched another gem in his next outing, against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park.
In a game that turned out to be a true pitcher's duel with George Kirby on the mound for the hosts, Skenes did his best to keep his team in the game, pitching five scoreless innings, striking out 10 batters in the process.
Unfortunately, in keeping with the trend this season, the Pirates hitters were unable to offer any run support, and the Mariners ended up taking the lead via a Randy Arozarena home run in the bottom of the sixth. That run proved to be the difference between the teams on the day.
