A WASTED PHENOM: PIRATES SHOULD TRADE PAUL SKENES TO A SACRED CONTENDER
It’s a shock when baseball’s best pitcher is stuck with a 4-6 record in Pittsburgh, where the Pirates are lucky to be in the majors and could deal him at 23 to the Cubs or — please, no — the Dodgers
We no longer think Elon Musk is the coolest man in his world or any world, so take a steady gaze at Paul Skenes. He is a pitching phenom unmatched in baseball history. He still dates Livvy Dunne, who just appeared on the cover of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue in some form of beachwear. He throws seven or eight pitches, including a splinker. His right arm is a missile. He intends to serve in the military in his 40s.
However — somehow — it’s beyond belief that we must feel sorry for Skenes. When he arrived Friday at Wrigley Field, Skenes had a 1.88 earned run average — with a 1.12 ERA in his last seven starts — but sported only a 4-6 record. Do the extended math after he completed five innings in the rain, allowed four hits and gave up no runs in a 2-1 win over the Cubs in 10 innings. That’s because he performs early in his career for the Pittsburgh Pirates, who allowed an alcohol ad to replace Roberto Clemente’s honorary stadium logo, who failed to install commemorative bricks before they showed up at a recycling facility and let a drunken fan fall 21 feet onto the outfield warning track.
Like the Rockies, like the White Sox, like the Marlins, like the pre-Vegas Athletics and like the post-hurricane Rays, the Pirates do not belong in the big leagues. But Skenes is on the staff because he was drafted. He must watch as his teammates struggle to score and can’t escape last place in the National League Central. Watching him face the Cubs, who are ablaze behind Pete Crow-Armstrong and Kyle Tucker, was another reminder that baseball is a sick world. We only can hope he remains healthy and doesn’t wind up on a Tommy John surgery list.
Unless … the Pirates trade him.
Why not? The sport is wasting an all-timer, who must be dealt before 2029 to make his way to a hallowed competitive level. He has recorded the lowest number of victories, by a pitcher with a sub-2.00 ERA through 15 starts, since 1947. There is a better chance of owner Bob Nutting doing an end-zone touchdown dance with Aaron Rodgers than paying Skenes a well-deserved fee — around $400 million — before 2027 arbitration and eventual free agency. What are the chances of a 23-year-old developing arm problems? If Nutting has any chance of surviving in western Pennsylvania, he’d consider what the Washington Nationals did with Juan Soto, trading him to San Diego and receiving six players. This is a nothing franchise with a knockout ballpark, overlooking downtown, that has managed only four winning seasons in the last 33 years.
“Sell the team, Bob!” fans are chanting between shots at Oakmont Country Club, during the U.S. Open.
A trade, so far, has not been internally discussed. That’s what general manager Ben Cherington claims. “It’s not at all part of the conversation,” he said. But with the sport’s collective bargaining agreement expiring after next season, the Pirates must weigh the advantages of keeping Skenes against a package of standouts. Why be 29-42 when they might push .500? Or would it matter in Pittsburgh?
Watching Skenes work in what actually was major-league ball — the Cubs qualify with a handful of contenders this season — it was obvious he is dying in a bogus place. It was nice to see him pitch beautifully, but so what? When he was asked days ago about a trade possibility, he laughed.
“It doesn’t affect anything. Anybody can play GM,” Skenes said. “There's no substance to just all that talk that you hear on social media and news outlets and stuff like that.”
But the more he thought about it, he said: “Ben's job is to create a winning team and a winning organization. So what it looks like to him … I don't expect it to happen. He is going to look out for what's best for the Pirates. If he feels (trading me) is the right way to go, then he feels that's the right way to go. But you know, I have to pitch well, that's the bottom line.”
He does, every time. “Just made pitches when we needed to. Five scoreless is not terrible at the end of the day,” Skenes said after the win. “Just a good stretch. We’ve been executing. I don’t think it’s super complicated. Just go out and put up as many zeroes as possible.”
“He gave us everything he had,” catcher Henry Davis said. “He always does.”
“Against Skenes, we couldn’t get the next hit,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said.
He is pitching better than anyone — including Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who makes $325 million from the Dodgers, and Gerrit Cole, who makes $324 million while recovering from Tommy John surgery in New York. What kind of riches will Skenes command in his 20s? If the Cubs are interested in an eventual deal — which might position them for a World Series — they could include hotshot pitcher Cade Horton, who threw well Friday, third baseman Matt Shaw, outfielder Kevin Alcantara and shortstop Juan Tomas. The Dodgers — imagine Skenes, Shohei Ohtani, Yamamoto and Blake Snell in the rotation — could include catcher Dalton Rushing, outfielder Andy Pages and pitchers Jackson Ferris and Landon Knack. The Red Sox could offer the game’s hottest prospect, Roman Anthony.
It might not be worth it for a few local fans, who have waited hours for Skenes bobbleheads at PNC Park. At some point, they’ll be bored again in a Steelers and Penguins town. “It’s a bobblehead. It’s not my thing,” Skenes said.
On a rainy day on Chicago’s North Side, the offense scored twice. Livvy Dunne has an apartment in New York City and is having a much better time. Baseball — and sports — needs Skenes’ performances to mean something. This one meant nothing, except to opposing front offices that like to dream.
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Jay Mariotti, called “without question the most impacting Chicago sportswriter of the past quarter-century,’’ writes general sports columns for Substack while appearing on some of the 1,678,498 podcasts and shows in production today. He is an accomplished columnist, TV panelist and talk/podcast host. Living in Los Angeles, he gravitated by osmosis to film projects.