Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates had one of the best seasons in recent memory for a rookie starting pitcher. Despite not making his MLB debut until the middle of May, Skenes earned the honor of taking the mound as a starter for the National League in the mid-summer classic.
Skenes continued his dominance for the rest of the year to finish 2024 with a 11-3 record and a jaw-dropping 1.96 ERA in 23 starts. Skenes put his explosive repertoire on display, striking out a total of 170 batters in his 133 innings pitched. This performance was good enough for NL Rookie of the Year.
The Pirates are trying to enjoy Skenes while they have him because once his contract runs out, it is highly unlikely that Pittsburgh is able to retain him. Although that is a few years down the road, even Pirates insiders have accepted the inevitable.
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Pirates insiders accepting Skenes inevitable departure
If Paul Skenes stays healthy, there is without a doubt that he is one of the best pitchers in all of Major League Baseball. Skenes is the type of player that teams plan years in advance to pursue when he hits the free agent market.
Skenes is currently under contract with the Pirates through the 2029 season but after that, he will likely be fair game. Jason Mackey, a Pirates insider for Post Gazette, claims he does not see a Paul Skenes extension happening. Mackey also believes that when Skenes hits free agency he will sign the richest contract in MLB history for a pitcher.
To put into perspective how much money that really is, the current largest contract in history for a pitcher belongs to Los Angeles Dodgers' Yoshinobu Yamamoto at 12 years, $325 million. We also know that with each passing year, free agent contracts seem to grow so by the year 2029-230, Mackey believes we could be looking at a $700 million contract for Skenes.
Being the fourth smallest market in the MLB, there is no possible way the Pirates could afford to keep Skenes on their payroll. Most likely teams like the Dodgers, Yankees, Mets and Padres will be the only ones who can make a run at Skenes when the time comes.