For the past couple of weeks, the Pittsburgh Pirates haven't been able to shake the allegations that they'll consider trading star pitcher Paul Skenes sooner rather than later. It started earlier this month, with the team in the midst of losing 14 games in a 17-game stretch. Then ESPN's Jeff Passan poured a canister of gasoline on it, arguing that it might be in the team's best interest to consider moving on already if it didn't think it could contend before Skenes hit free agency — four-plus years from now.
Since then, it's been just about all anyone can talk about when it comes to Pirates baseball — whether Pittsburgh likes it or not. (Of course, winning some games might help.) The team has done all it can to stamp this rumor out: An anonymous source categorically denied any thought of trading Skenes to the New York Post's Jon Heyman earlier this week, and it was GM Ben Cherington's turn on Thursday, when he was asked during a media appearance about his young ace's future.
Cherington was unequivocal: "No," he said, when asked if he would consider trading Skenes. "It's not at all part of the conversation."
Well that settles that, right?
... not so fast. Cherington is no doubt telling the truth when he says that he's not even thinking about trading Skenes; any executive would kill to be able to build around a player so good so young. But the problem isn't with Cherington — it's with his boss, owner Bob Nutting. The reality is that Nutting is the only man in Pittsburgh who can actually quiet all of this down, and instead he's too busy leaving Cherington out to dry.
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Bob Nutting is the only one who can put Paul Skenes trade speculation to bed for good
It's entirely possible that Cherington isn't even in a position to decide whether Skenes gets traded or not this time next year; amid a sixth straight miserable season, rumors have begun to swirl about his own job security of late.
In that context, you'll forgive fans and media for not granting his words all that much weight. And really, everyone who's paid any attention to the Pirates knows that this team is made in its owner's image — Cherington doesn't want to trade Skenes any more than he wants to spend all offseason sitting on the sidelines, and yet here we are, with Adam Frazier and Tommy Pham the only Major League free agents of note this winter.
The only way for the Pirates to convince people that Skenes isn't simply on borrowed time would be to meaningfully invest in the product on the field, or hopefully win some baseball games. As long as the status quo remains intact, the idea of Skenes sticking in Pittsburgh beyond the next four-plus years is laughable — and as long as that's true, people are going to keep wondering why they just don't get it over with already.