How the Pirates set Paul Skenes up for Opening Day failure with three terrible decisions

If you're wondering how Paul Skenes, of all starting pitchers, gave up five earned runs in less than an inning pitched in his Opening Day start, I can answer that question for you. Skenes was decent, but not great, in his debut on the road. His first inning went poorly, as he missed his location on multiple occasions, and couldn't hit on his breaking pitches consistently. That made Skenes' fastball – even at triple digits – all the more hittable.

But Skenes did not give up five earned runs. Perhaps the official scorer at Citi Field will fix it, but maybe he won't. It doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things for the Pirates. What does matter is everything that led to Skenes' brutal Opening Day start, and the defensive flaws that contributed to it.

Henry Davis is not a starting catcher in MLB

The Pirates front office selected Henry Davis first overall in the 2021 MLB Draft. As a result, they are determined to prove themselves right. But Davis has hit under the Mendoza line for the vast majority of his MLB career. Pittsburgh debated moving him to first base last season. He's a mess, in part because the Pirates made him one, as they have so many prospects before him.

If Davis is the Pirates starting catcher – and managing Pittsburgh's pitching staff – they are already destined for failure. Joey Bart is the backup behind Davis. He's better at the plate and behind it, but that's not necessarily a compliment. Bart is a .230 hitter at best, and doesn't offer much power at PNC Park.

Davis' lack of experience is brutally obvious when he's behind the plate. He calls the wrong pitches, and doesn't understand his pitching staff nearly as well as he should. His pitch framing is laughable, and he's bound to lose more ABS challenges than anyone else in the sport. Should I go on?

Trading offense for defense is a miserable strategy

The Pirates needed to improve their lineup this winter. I get it, as did anyone who followed the Pirates on a daily basis in 2026. Pittsburgh had a top-10 pitching staff, but a bottom-5 lineup. There was a clear reason why the Pirates didn't make the playoffs in 2025, and it started with the players tasked with driving in runs.

So, Pittsburgh signed some hitters. Brandon Lowe, Ryan O'Hearn and Marcell Ozuna should make the lineup a lot better. But those players don't help you much defensively, and that's this team's biggest problem. Lowe is a below-average second baseman defensively. The outfield consists of O'Hearn, Bryan Reynolds and O'neil Cruz in center.

The latter of those should set off alarm bells in Pittsburgh. Cruz ranked near the bottom of MLB in defensive runs saved and committed the most errors in baseball of any center fielder last season. Yet, the Pirates are sticking with him, in part because they can't find another spot for him. And they surrounded him with poor defensive outfielders. How is this supposed to work again?

Oneil Cruz isn't a center fielder, and the Pirates should know that

Just in case you need more on Cruz, we devoted an entire section to him. Cruz is the worst defensive center fielder in baseball. It's not all that close. And it took just one game for the Pirates decision-making to backfire.

Don Kelly could be a great manager one day, but his gig with the Pirates is an impossible task. This outfield could set the record for worst DRS in the history of baseball. I'm not kidding, especially if Cruz doesn't make up for his Opening Day mistakes. Speaking of, I should probably include those here.

Cruz can break stattrack records all he wants, but his highlight-reel home runs can only make up for his terrible defense for so long. Were Cruz a designated hitter, perhaps we could overlook him allowing three runs in one inning and chasing Skenes out of the game. Yet, that seems a bit unrealistic.

Cruz is not a starting center fielder on a playoff team. The Pirates plan on contending for the 2026 postseason. Much like the rest of this Pittsburgh team, I just don't see the fit.

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