Paul Skenes isn’t expecting the Pirates to throw him a curveball.
There has been rampant speculation that the spiraling Pirates might be better off trading the best young pitcher in MLB for a haul of prospects to boost their offense, but making that move at this point would be a huge gamble when Skenes is under team control until 2030 and cost-effective at least until reaching arbitration in 2027.
“I don’t expect it to happen,” Skenes told The Associated Press after Pirates general manager Ben Cherington scoffed at the possibility. “[Cherington] is going to look out for what’s best for the Pirates. If he feels [trading me] is the right way to go, then he feels that’s the right way to go. But I have to pitch well. That’s the bottom line.”
Cherington said that trading the flame-throwing Skenes is “not part of the conversation at all” despite an 18-34 start that has the Pirates headed for a sixth straight losing season.
But analysts and fans have other ideas in the mock-trade world.
“Anybody can play GM,” Skenes said. “There’s no substance to just all that talk that you hear on social media and news outlets and stuff like that.”
Skenes, who will turn 23 this week, has been unaffected by the speculation.
He sports a 2.36 ERA with 70 strikeouts in 68 2/3 innings but owns a 3-5 record pitching for a lineup that provides the lowest run support in MLB.
“Ben’s job is to create a winning team and a winning organization,” Skenes said. “So what it looks like to him [is up to him].”
Of course, Skenes is used to living in a fish bowl as the boyfriend of social-media influencer, former LSU gymnast and Sports Illustrated swimsuit model Livvy Dunn.
So, does the 2024 National League Rookie of the Year feel disrespected by the implication that the Pirates should move on from him so quickly despite his performance and commitment he has shown to Pittsburgh over his first year in the majors?
“I don’t feel anything good or bad toward it,” Skenes said.
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