It’s rare that the New York Yankees see a superstar they don’t want to bring to the Bronx.
Already with a star-studded roster headlined by American League Most Valuable Player favorite Aaron Judge, the Yankees were quite active at July’s trade deadline in search of a return trip to the World Series.
However, there was one star they reportedly inquired about that was evidently off limits completely.
According to a Thursday report from the New York Post’s Jon Heyman, the Yankees called the Pittsburgh Pirates about trading for superstar pitcher Paul Skenes, the National League Cy Young Award front-runner, but were quickly rebuffed.
New York, according to Heyman, was willing to discuss trading away its top position player prospects, outfielder Spencer Jones and infielder George Lombard Jr.
“The Yankees were one of only a handful of teams (fewer than five) that checked in on Paul Skenes even after word was out that the Pirates had no intention of trading the Cy Young leader,” Heyman wrote. “That was the one case where the Yankees were willing to discuss Spencer Jones and George Lombard Jr. But talks went nowhere. … They just figured a phone call couldn’t hurt.”
The only reason the Pirates would likely ever consider trading away the 23-year-old Skenes, who has a 1.94 ERA in 53 career major league starts, is if he makes it clear he won’t sign an extension before he’s scheduled to hit free agency after the 2029 season.
Instead, Heyman wrote that the Pirates were now “likely to extend him” after their second-half improvements under interim manager Don Kelly.
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