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Jorge Castillo
LAS VEGAS — The Pittsburgh Pirates will not trade Paul Skenes this offseason, general manager Ben Cherington reiterated Tuesday, quashing any simmering speculation about the ace right-hander possibly being moved and altering Major League Baseball’s landscape.
Cherington said he has regularly received inquiries from clubs regarding Skenes’ availability and said the conversations are always short.
“The question gets asked, and it’s always respectful,” Cherington said at the MLB general managers meetings. “Teams have to ask the question. I suspect that won’t end. But the answer’s been consistent.”
The question keeps surfacing because Skenes, just two seasons into his major league career, is arguably the best pitcher in the sport at just 23 years old, and the Pirates have failed to build anything close to a winning roster around him.
The Pirates finished last in the National League Central for the second straight season despite Skenes leading the majors with a 1.97 ERA in 187⅔ innings across 32 starts. He made the All-Star team again and is the favorite to win the NL Cy Young Award, which will be announced Thursday. And yet the Pirates finished 71-91, five games worse than in 2024.
Trading Skenes would net Pittsburgh a massive return, but the Pirates view Skenes as a building block as they seek to reach the postseason for the first time since 2015.
Cherington said with more payroll “flexibility” to acquire talent this winter, the club will prioritize improving an offense that ranked last in the majors in runs scored and 29th in wRC+ in 2025 to better complement its pitching staff. Headed by Skenes, the Pirates’ promising projected starting rotation also includes veteran Mitch Keller and heralded prospect Bubba Chandler.
“We believe our pitching is a strength,” Cherington said. “Doesn’t mean we wouldn’t want to add more pitching. We will certainly be opportunistic on the pitching side. There are some things that we’d like to do on the pitching side, but run scoring was the thing that got in our way more than anything. And we’ve got to add to that.”