Pirates Should Send Dodgers to Paul Skenes in 5-Player Blockbuster Trade, Says Insider

The Athletic's Jim Bowden proposed several different trades that the Pirates would have to consider, and among them was a package that the Dodgers could hypothetically offer.

The package includes recently called-up catcher Dalton Rushing, outfielder Andy Pages, and two young arms in Jackson Ferris and Landon Knack.

"The Dodgers could offer the Pirates a long-term answer at catcher (Rushing) and a solution for left field (Pages), improving their lineup for this season and years to come. Ferris, 21, isn’t ready for the majors yet, but has the stuff to become a top-of-the-rotation starter if his command and control improve," Bowden writes for The Athletic.

"Knack would slot into the Pirates’ rotation right away, effectively replacing Skenes. On the other side of the trade, the Dodgers’ postseason rotation, if healthy, could be Skenes, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Shohei Ohtani and Tyler Glasnow. Yikes!"

The Dodgers' trade proposal would allow the Pirates to rebuild its depth with quality, providing instant upgrades to its roster with some high upside additions.

That quality of depth is likely worthwhile for the Pirates to trade Skenes for, and it would help the health of the organization's roster.

The issue would be that Pirates fans would likely be crushed to see their new franchise cornerstone leave the team, especially after only seeing him pitch for a short while.

For the Dodgers, a trade for Skenes would give the team an unprecedented amount of pitching depth in the short, medium, and long term.

He would immediately rival Yamamoto, Glasnow, and Snell for the fight to be the ace, and he is much further along than Roki Sasaki, who remains promising but raw.

Skenes would be cost-controlled for several seasons, and he would likely become one of many faces of the franchise.

While losing depth will likely hurt, the Dodgers seemingly have an endless supply of prospects in the pipeline that can help cover the losses of Rushing and Pages.

The Pirates are rumored not to be interested in trading Skenes, seeing him as a building block, though conversation will remain about whether or not that is right approach for a rudderless Pittsburgh team.