Proposed Dodgers-Paul Skenes trade only scratches the surface of his value

The trade would look as follows:

Dodgers receive: 

• RHP Paul Skenes

Pirates receive: 

• RHP Landon Knack
• C Dalton Rushing (LAD No. 1 prospect)
• LHP Jackson Ferris (LAD No. 5 prospect)
• OF Andy Pages

The reasoning behind this proposed deal seems sensible on the surface: Los Angeles would receive a top-flight starter, while Pittsburgh acquires both MLB and MiLB talent. 

However, this is a lesson in exactly why the Pirates are better off trying to build around Skenes. There is no price tag on a generational talent, at least not in theory. 

None of the above players, for example, can match Skenes' dominance and gravitas, even if all of them turn out to be solid MLB players. The former is more than just "solid."

The soon-to-be 23-year-old started last year's MLB All-Star Game just two months into his big league career and placed third in National League Cy Young balloting despite not even playing a full rookie season. That's unprecedented success for someone in their early career. His starts in Pittsburgh are routinely a spectacle, an anomaly for an otherwise apathetic fan base.

You might bring up outfielder Juan Soto as an example of an elite talent who has been traded twice. However, we know that the San Diego Padres wouldn't have traded him if not for the passing of the late Peter Seidler. At the same time, the Washington Nationals capitalized on their Soto era with a World Series championship in 2019. And though that trade has panned out nicely for Washington, it didn't come without initial criticism. And they haven't had a winning season since that move was made.

Doesn't Pittsburgh do enough losing already? 

Unless the Pirates get an offer that's too good to refuse, they should try to make Skenes the centerpiece of their next contending squads. Otherwise, this hypothetical Dodgers offer only scratches the surface of what Pittsburgh should be able to obtain in a trade.