The Pittsburgh Pirates are a farce, if Bob Nightengale's reporting is to be believed. While there are varying opinions on just how much money the Pirates ownership is raking in on a yearly basis, Nightengale's reporting through the MLBPA and rival owners is not a great look for Bob Nutting. If Nutting really is using most of his luxury tax dollars on something other than the big-league roster, then it's only a matter of time before ace Paul Skenes becomes the latest piece lost, whether it be via trade or eventual free agency.
"The Pittsburgh Pirates, according to information received by the players union and confirmed by several owners, are one of the most profitable teams in all of baseball, stashing a huge chunk of their revenue sharing monies instead of investing in their team year after year," Nightengale wrote in his Sunday column.
To be fair to the Pirates, an investigative piece on DK Pittsburgh Sports which ran earlier this season suggested the exact opposite. Per Dejan Kovacevic, the Pirates are actually losing money, which may be an even bigger embarrassment given the dollars they ought to be bringing in.
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Pirates are wasting their window with Paul Skenes already
The Pirates payroll is lackluster to say the least. If that's the best product they can put on the field, then perhaps Skenes future in Pittsburgh is predetermined either way.
The Pirates have little reason to part ways with Skenes anytime soon. He is still in his pre-arbitration years, and won't technically be a free agent until the 2030 season. Yet, how many times have we seen this before with Pirates stars? While they are young and affordable, players like Skenes are highlighted as the future of the franchise, and centerpieces of the next great Pittsburgh baseball team. However, that rarely comes to fruition. The last time the Pirates were competing for playoff spots on a regular basis was a brief run from 2013-15. The Bucs botched that job, and Ben Cherington is doing little to ensure more competitive baseball in the future.
Pittsburgh fired manager Derek Shelton this past week. Skenes had a lot to say about the matter.
“At the end of the day, we’re 12-26,” Skenes said. “Someone’s got to be held accountable, and unfortunately right now, it’s him. That’s just kind of how it goes, but I don’t know that it fixes the root of the issue, which is we need to play better. That’s been the messaging today, that’s been the messaging for a little bit now and we’ve still got to do that.”
It's admirable of Skenes and the Pirates players to hold themselves accountable, but this problem starts at the top. Nutting isn't going anywhere, but keeping Cherington around will only hurt Pittsburgh's long-term plans. The same can be said about Travis Williams. If the Pirates hope to make a playoff run during Skenes tenure – and not lose him in familiar fashion – their solution cannot be more of the same, and it certainly doesn't start with blaming well-run organizations.