On a team where he has no real support, Paul Skenes is going to be a superstar once he leaves Pittsburgh. The Pirates are struggling, again, but the issues start at the top.
Skenes is the kind of player a team should build around. Instead, the front office seems to have no plans to make any moves to help him out. And the longer they wait, the more his trade value could drop.
A Paul Skenes Trade Looks Similar to Gerrit Cole’s
The Pirates have a 0.3% chance of making the playoffs. The NL Central isn’t the best division in baseball, but the Chicago Cubs are rolling, and the Brewers and Cardinals always find a way to compete. Pittsburgh is back in the cellar—13.5 games behind Chicago.
An injury to Jared Jones only makes things worse. He’ll miss the rest of 2025, and that’s a significant loss to the rotation. The Pirates don’t want to overwork their young arms, so 22-year-old Bubba Chandler seemed like the logical next man up. But in typical Pirates fashion, they’re keeping him in the minors.
Coming soon to PNC Park 👀 pic.twitter.com/GEa2FYcDYa
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates)
Instead of giving Chandler his debut, the Pirates called up Mike Burrows. The 25-year-old made his MLB debut against the Brewers and took the 8-5 loss, falling to 0-1. It was a game filled with rain delays and horrible weather, which is just another thing the Pirates could use as an excuse. His final line saw him throw five innings, giving up four earned runs (two home runs) on four hits.
In 2013, Gerrit Cole made his MLB debut for the Pittsburgh Pirates. After a short stint with the Houston Astros, many fans have known Cole primarily for his time as a New York Yankee. He’s been on the Yankees since 2020, winning the AL Cy Young in 2023. The six-time All-Star has undoubtedly proven himself worthy of a World Series, something the Yankees look to accomplish this season after failing to do so in 2024.
Paul Skenes’ numbers are phenomenal. The 22-year-old threw his first complete game against the Phillies, but eight innings of work, only giving up three hits and one earned run with nine strikeouts, resulted in a loss. His win-loss total is less than stellar, 3-5, even though he’s only putting up an ERA of 2.44.
There aren’t necessarily comparisons to how Skenes and Cole pitch, but there are comparisons to a potential trade package. When Cole was dealt in 2018, the Pirates received Joe Musgrove, Michael Feliz, Colin Moran, and Jason Martin.