Pirates News: Pirates offered valuable advice on handling Paul Skenes by MLB insider

Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes is one of the best hurlers in the league and was in contention for the National League Cy Young award in his rookie season last year.

While Skenes is one of the most watchable players in the league, the Pirates are unlikely to make the postseason again after an abysmal start to the 2025 campaign.

MLB insider Jeff Passan, on the Pat McAfee Show, discussed the reigning NL Rookie of the Year's future with the Pirates as the NL team continues to struggle.

Passan feels the Pirates haven't done enough to strengthen the team, and it could dim their chances of re-signing Skenes when his contract expires. The ESPN analyst said that the team should look to trade the young flamethrower if they believe they have no chance of re-signing Skenes.

"They have five years of club control before he reaches free agency. If they believe they have absolutely no chance of signing him, then they should trade him and you can make an argument they should trade him now."

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However, Passan is against the idea of letting Skenes if the Pirates improve the team by adding offensive players to back the ace. He believes teams are likely to enquire about the young hurler in July.

"I'm not going to (trade Skenes) because I think the Pirates, with some of the players they have coming up, would have a chance to win if they go out and bring in some offensive players.

"But the truth is some teams are already going to ask about Paul Skenes at the trade deadline this year, and I don't anticipate he not gonna be moved, but there's a real argument to be made that the best thing for the Pirates would be to move Paul Skenes when he has the most value."

Paul Skenes' potential trade angers former MLB player

Former MLB player Trevor Plouffe doesn't like the idea of Paul Skenes getting traded by the Pirates. Plouffe didn't mince words on a potential trade for the ace:

"If the Pirates trade Paul Skenes, it's in the best interest of the sport to force a change in ownership."

Paul Skenes' stock has risen considerably since being drafted by the Pirates in 2023, and if he's going to be moved by Pittsburgh, it's likely to be one of the big market teams in the MLB.

About the author

Chaitanya Prakash is an editor who covers US Sports at Sportskeeda. His first brush with sportswriting was in 2012 when the greatest football manager of all time, Sir Alex Ferguson, bid farewell to the beautiful game.

Although having started out professionally as a cricket writer in 2022, Chaitanya's curiosity and indiscriminate interest in all sports in general eventually introduced him to America's favorite pastime.

While Chaitanya's favorite player from the current crop is the dynamic Venezuelan Ronald Acuna Jr., his all-time favorite, however, is Pedro Martinez, for his self-belief and consistency. He also rates Jose Bautista's iconic bat flip in 2015 as his favorite moment in baseball history.

Chaitanya specializes in reporting on technical aspects of the game or analyzing patterns behind specific plays. He also likes pondering over players' self-assessments following the conclusion of a game as it helps him get an idea of how they think about the sport in general.

When not cheering for his favorites across sports, Chaitanya likes being transported to the past through a good war documentary or a historical documentary in general.

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Edited by Chaitanya Prakash