Hall of Famer Doubts Paul Skenes' Future with Pirates

Sabathia joined an episode of Network with Rich Kleiman and spoke on many topics, including if the Pirates can keep Skenes.

He said that there is no way the Pirates can get rid of Skenes now, shutting down any trade ideas, especially with how important he could be for a team aiming for the postseason in 2026, comparing him to Detroit Tigers left-handed starting pitcher Tarik Skubal.

"I don't think Pittsburgh can do anything with him in the near future, just because of the way that would look to their fanbase, right," Sabathia said. "You can't give up on a team that has that type of talent, that type of starter.

"Look at Detroit [Tigers] and Tarik Skubal. They're in the playoffs every year, solely because of the way he pitches. You can get by with just the one starter and Skubal almost pitched them to the World Series last year, with just him by himself. It can be done."

Sabathia mentioned that the Pirates also have a lot of great young prospects coming up through the farm system, which is why they should keep Skenes and see what they can accomplish with them.

He also said that, like former Pirates star pitcher Gerrit Cole, he'll eventually leave the franchise and go to a more successful team, particularly with the Yankees or New York Mets or the Los Angeles Dodgers, who regularly have the highest payrolls.

"They have so much young talent," Sabathia said. "They got the Bubba Chandler kid, Jared Jones, you got this kid Konnor Griffin, they got Termarr Johnson in their system. So, they have a lot of talent in their system. They just need to get it up to the big leagues and, you know, see what they can do for the next couple of years.

"But I don't think he'll stay there. He'll end up being like Gerrit Cole. He'll end up somewhere else, pitching in the playoffs in a pennant race down the stretch. [When] he becomes a free agent and who knows where he'll end up. Maybe he ends up somewhere in New York, or you know, on the other coast in L.A. I don't see him playing his whole career in Pittsburgh, but I don't see them trading him anytime soon."

Paul Skenes Has Dominated in His First Two MLB Seasons

The Pirates brought Skenes up on May 11, 2024, less than a year after taking him first overall in the 2023 MLB Draft.

Skenes had a 11-3 record in 23 starts as a rookie in 2024, while posting a 1.96 ERA in 133.0 innings pitched. He allowed just 29 earned runs, 94 hits, six home runs and 32 walks, while making 170 strikeouts and holding opposing hitting to a .198 batting average. He also had a 11.50 K/9 and a WHIP of 0.95. 

He won the National League Rookie of the Year, the first Pirates player to do so since outfielderJason Bay in 2004, while also earning All-MLB First Team honors and finished third in the voting for the NL Cy Young Award.

Skenes also became the first member of the Pirates to start for the National League in the All-Star Game since Jerry Reuss did it in 1975, 49 years prior. He was also just the fifth rookie to start an All-Star game, with Hideo Nomo of the Los Angeles Dodgers doing so in 1995, en route to winning NL Rookie of the Year.

He continued his incredible pitching in 2025, as he had just a 10-10 record in 32 starts with the Pirates, but a 1.97 ERA over 187.2 innings pitched, 216 strikeouts to 42 walks, a .199 opposing batting average and a 0.95 WHIP, along with a 10.36 K/9, a 2.01 BB/9 and a 5.14 K/BB.

Skenes ranked amongst the best pitchers in the MLB, with the lowest ERA, tied for the fourth most strikeouts, the fourth lowest WHIP, the sixth lowest batting average and the 10th most innings pitched, plus the fifth best K/BB, seventh best K/9 and ninth best BB/9.

He started for the NL in the All-Star Game again and became the first pitcher to ever startconsecutive All-Star Games in their first two seasons.

Skenes will likely win the NL Cy Young Award, making him the first Pirates pitcher to do so since Doug Drabek did in 1990 and the third overall, with Pirates Hall of Famer Vern Law winning the Cy Young Award, with no league distinction, in 1960.

How Hard Would it be for the Pirates to Keep Paul Skenes?

The Pirates are notoriously amongst the lowest-spending MLB teams, having the fourth lowest payroll on Opening Day in 2025.

Skenes will be in his third and final season of pre-arbitration in 2026, where he will make more than the MLB minimum, which is $760,000 for 2025, as he made $875,000 this season, prior to incentives.

He will then have three years of arbitration, where the Pirates and him will have to come to an agreement on pay for that season, before hitting free agency after the 2029 campaign.

The Pirates could sign Skenes to an extension, which would pay him more now than having to wait for that long-term deal at the end of the decade. The amount of money that Skenes will command is likely too high than the Pirates would consider paying, even if it is deserving and justifiable.