Pirates GM addresses Paul Skenes trade chatter
It seems to be a foregone conclusion that at some point over the next four or five years the Pittsburgh Pirates are going to have to trade starting pitcher Paul Skenes when he begins to price himself out of their budget. It's probably not a matter of if it happens, but probably a matter of when it happens.
Such is life as a small market team with a Scrooge McDuck type of owner that doesn't really care to spend money.
As inevitable as that discussion feels, Pirates fans were probably expecting it to happen closer to Skenes' pending free agency, and not in his second season in the big leagues.
But there is at least some good news on the front: General manager Ben Cherington said on Thursday that trading Skenes this season is not going to be part of the discussion.
That is a statement that probably should not need to be said, and a question that probably should not need to be asked, but it is a testament to how poorly things are going in Pittsburgh right now.
With the Pirates off to one of their worst starts in franchise history, and a laughably incompetent offense that has no immediate help on the horizon in the farm system, the speculation has begun as to whether or not it would be in the Pirates' best interest to try moving Skenes now to maximize the return.
ESPN's Jeff Passan recently discussed the idea during an appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show," while also harshly criticizing everything about the Pirates' current operation.
That led to local and national chatter around the idea of, "hey, should the Pirates actually consider this?"
Finally, the subject was actually brought up to Cherington.
While you could probably piece together a pretty competent argument as to why it might make some degree of sense, it would be such a cataclysmic PR loss in a season already full of PR losses for the franchise that it might destroy whatever fandom is still lingering.
Skenes is already one of the best pitchers in baseball and one of the biggest draws in the sport. He's not just a star, he's a superstar, and he is only going to get better. The Pirates might only have him for a limited time, but as long as they have him under team control the focus should be on building the best possible team around him and trying to win.
Especially when their starting rotation as a whole, even beyond Skenes, has been so good this season.
They have simply failed (so far) in their quest to build around him. As long as those failures continue, the sharks are going to be circling in the water when it comes to trade speculation.
More must-reads: