Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Ben Cherington has addressed the trade rumors surrounding his superstar pitcher Paul Skenes.
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When asked whether or not trading the reigning National League Rookie of the Year was in consideration for the Pirates, Cherington had a simple response.
“No,” Cherington responded flatly. “It’s not part of the conversation at all.”
Skenes, 22, is coming off a Rookie of the Year season in 2024 in which he went 11-3 with a 1.96 ERA. He added 170 strikeouts to 32 walks over 133 innings pitched.
Skenes has picked up where he left off, sporting a 2.44 ERA with 62 strikeouts over 62.2 innings pitched this season.
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Skenes was selected with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft out of Louisiana State University. Just two years later, he’s already established himself as one of MLB’s best pitchers.
Unfortunately for him, he’s on one of MLB’s worst teams.
The Pirates, notorious for not spending in the offseason, entered Thursday’s series opener against the division rival Milwaukee Brewers at 17-33, a whopping 13 games back of the NL Central leading Chicago Cubs. They have the second-worst record in the NL, only ahead of the lowly Colorado Rockies.
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The problem for this Pirates team is obvious, and it has nothing to do with Skenes or the rest of their starting pitching staff.
The Pirates offense has been abysmal, entering Thursday’s game with a combined batting average of .218, which ranked 29th in MLB, only ahead of the Chicago White Sox. Moreover, Pirates hitters have combined for a wRC+ of 72, which is also 29th in MLB, just ahead of the Rockies.
The Pirates haven’t scored more than four runs in a game in the month of May. Their last game with at least four runs scored came on April 22, when they beat the Los Angeles Angels, 9-3.
No matter what Skenes or the rest of the pitching staff does, it’s hard to win games when you don’t score. Cherington is confident this team can turn things around, though.
“We’ve just got to get better,” Cherington said. “Let’s play better baseball, and that’s going to lead to winning more games. Then, let’s wake up and see where that takes us when we get to July.”
Whether the Pirates buy or sell come July, Skenes isn’t going to be moved. The 2024 All-Star with four and a half more years of team control will instead continue to do what he can to take Pittsburgh out of the cellar in the National League.
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