Paul Skenes wasn't at his best on Friday, but he still delivered five scoreless innings against the high-powered Chicago Cubs on the road. Normally, when a pitcher is able to throw five scoreless innings, his team has a good chance to win. The Pittsburgh Pirates are the Pirates, though, so when Skenes departed, the game was scoreless. (Although they did eventually find some offense and scrape out a 2-1 win in extra innings.)
Skenes now has a 1.78 ERA in 15 starts and a MLB-leading 96 innings of work. Despite his dominance, even with the Pirates finding a way to scratch out an extra-inning win, they improved to just 7-8 when he's taken the ball. He's arguably been the best pitcher on the planet since debuting, and yet, the Pirates struggle mightily to find ways to win when he pitches.
Considering that and where they are organizationally, trading Skenes, while an unpopular decision, might not be the worst one in the world. A snippet from Jim Bowden's latest article for The Athletic ($) suggested that a Skenes trade might not be impossible.
"As we’ve written many times, the Pirates have no interest in trading Paul Skenes as this year’s deadline. However, multiple GMs have told me that won’t stop them from making serious offers to acquire him. And, if you’re the Pirates, you have to listen because you have so many needs to fill — on your big-league team and also in your farm system ... I learned long ago in baseball … never say never."
Yes, a Skenes trade is and should be seen as incredibly unlikely. Still, crazier things have happened; a trade is not out of the realm of possibility. If a Skenes trade does happen, it will likely be with a team that has enough capital to pry him away from Pittsburgh and a desire to spend what it'd take financially to keep him in town for the duration of his career. With that in mind, these five suitors could make sense.
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Paul Skenes could gift the Tigers one of the greatest starting pitching duos in MLB history
The best pitcher in the American League, Tarik Skubal, pitches for the Detroit Tigers. Can you imagine him in the same rotation as Skenes, the best pitcher in the National League? The Tigers would just about automatically win 40 percent of the time. Detroit might not be considered a popular landing spot for Skenes in hypothetical rumors, but this team makes more sense than some might think.
First of all, they have a ton they could offer. Max Clark, Kevin McGonigle, Bryce Rainer, Josue Briceno, and Thayron Liranzo are all top-85 prospects, according to MLB Pipeline, and they're all position players. If there's one thing the Pirates need, it's position players. The Tigers also have Jackson Jobe, who might be preparing for Tommy John surgery, but his ceiling is probably just a tier below Skenes'. He can easily be one of the best pitchers on the planet in five years or less. A package of most of those prospects plus Jobe ought to get Pittsburgh thinking a bit, right?
Second, while it'd cost a fortune to keep Skubal and Skenes in town long-term, it can be done. The only players the Tigers are committed to paying past the 2026 season are Javier Baez and Colt Keith. The only player the Tigers are committed to paying past the 2027 campaign is Keith, and he's only guaranteed $5.3 million in 2028 and 2029 before three years of club options come into play.
In other words, the Tigers have a remarkably clear cap sheet once Baez's contract expires. This would make it a possibility for the Tigers, an organization that has spent in the past when it has wanted to, to field a competitive team while also handing out potentially the two richest pitching deals in MLB history.
The Cubs make more sense as a Paul Skenes suitor than Pirates fans would want to admit
Is this going to happen? No, and there's one reason for that: The Chicago Cubs are in the NL Central division along with the Pirates. Pittsburgh wouldn't, and probably shouldn't, trade him to a division rival. Still, if we're talking about the suitors that actually could afford to acquire Skenes, the Cubs must be thrown in there.
Chicago has a slew of players who would hypothetically interest the Pirates. Matt Shaw was seen as one of the top infield prospects in all of baseball entering the year, and while his career got off to a sluggish start, he's played extremely well since his recall in mid-May. Cade Horton just threw 5.2 scoreless innings against the Pirates on Friday and is one of the most exciting pitching prospects in the game. Owen Caissie, Moises Ballesteros, Kevin Alcantara and Jefferson Rojas are all top-75 prospects, and they're all position players. Hey, even Pete Crow-Armstrong might be available if it means the Cubs acquire the best pitcher on the planet.
In addition to the Cubs having a ton to offer, they're a big-market team with the ability to pay anyone they'd like. This would give the Cubs the willingness to spend more to acquire him knowing they could keep him around long-term.
Again, a trade between these NL Central rivals isn't going to happen. The Cubs would be a great fit, though.
The Pirates would have to listen to any offer the Phillies make
The Philadelphia Phillies might not be in the NL Central, but they are an in-state rival. Would the Pirates be willing to send Skenes to the other team that plays in Pennsylvania? I don't know, but if the Phillies come calling, the Pirates would have to listen because of what they can offer.
Andrew Painter might be the best pitching prospect in the league, and he's close to making his MLB debut. Mick Abel's stock has risen exponentially this season, and he's excelled in two of his first three MLB starts (one of which came against Pittsburgh). On the position-player side, Aidan Miller, Justin Crawford, Aroon Escobar and Eduardo Tait are all really exciting prospects.
The Phillies have the pieces the Pirates would want and, again, the willingness to spend. It all comes down to whether Pittsburgh would be comfortable trading him, especially to its in-state rival.
The Red Sox might be the best match for a Paul Skenes trade
The Boston Red Sox have literally everything the Pirates could want, and could plug Skenes in their rotation alongside Garrett Crochet to form the best rotation duo in the game. That, and the fact that they're in the American League, might make them the best fit overall for Skenes.
The Red Sox just promoted the top prospect in the game, Roman Anthony, to the Majors. Both Kristian Campbell and Marcelo Mayer were among the top prospects in the sport entering the year, and they're also now in the Show. Wilyer Abreu is a budding star who'd come with several years of club control. Other intriguing prospects the Red Sox have to offer include Franklin Arias, Jhostynxon Garcia and Yoeilin Cespedes.
The Red Sox's ability to offer position-player prospects with massive ceilings who are already at the MLB level is a game-changer, and makes them an easy favorite to pick if a Skenes trade were to ever go down.
The Dodgers can never be ruled out of a pursuit involving a star player
Alas, we've arrived at the team nobody wants to see Paul Skenes play for. And yet they simply cannot be ruled out. The Los Angeles Dodgers are in the conversation to acquire every available star, and there's a reason for that: Their farm system is stacked, and they've got as much money as any team in the sport.
The Dodgers have Dalton Rushing in the Majors backing up Will Smith. With regular playing time, he can become a star behind the dish. Josue De Paula, Zyhir Hope and even Eduardo Quintero are a bit away from the bigs, but they have enormously high ceilings. Andy Pages and Dustin May are budding stars at the MLB level who might get more recognition if they weren't surrounded by a superteam.
The Dodgers are the last team MLB fans want to see Skenes on, but they've got prospects, they've got money and Andrew Friedman has a history of pulling off exceptional blockbusters. The simple reality is that the Dodgers cannot be ruled out of anything.