The New York Yankees may have plans to replace Gerrit Cole’s spot in the rotation before the MLB trade deadline, but any hope of landing Pittsburgh Pirates star Paul Skenes is apparently off the table.
The Yankees had been named as a top potential landing spot in the Pirates decided to part ways with the 22-year-old pitcher, but a new report indicates that Pittsburgh will hold on tightly to the generational talent.
Yankees Need to Look Elsewhere for Pitching Help
Though speculation had been building around Skenes and Pittsburgh’s potential willingness to trade him, reporter Jon Heyman noted that the Pirates put an end to it.
As Heyman reported, Skenes is just too young and talented to trade right now, and the Pirates still see the chance to build a contending team around him.
“Pirates source: Paul Skenes is not getting traded. ‘No chance, no way, no how,’ is the way I heard it,” Heyman shared in a post on X. “While there’s a bit of logic to such a scenario, superstars just aren’t traded by anyone with 1 year service time and the Pirates remain determined to build around Skenes.”
Many had identified Skenes as a potential target for the Yankees. Bleacher Report’s Zachary D. Rymer named both the Yankees and New York Mets as “honorable mentions” in the race to land Skenes if he hit the trade block. Rymer suggested that the Yankees would definitely be in the mix, but likely wouldn’t have the assets to pull off the deal with the Pirates.
“We weren’t going to get through this exercise without mentioning the New York teams. If they were to get involved in a Skenes bidding war, it would be great content if nothing else,” Rymer wrote. “The problem: Neither club has much to offer in the way of elite prospects, with George Lombard Jr. (No. 44) representing the highest-ranked prospect for MLB Pipeline.”
Paul Skenes May Not Be Happy in Pittsburgh
It’s not clear if the Pirates will continue to hold their stance on Skenes, who has spoken publicly about the frustration of playing for a losing team. After Sunday’s 1-0 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies, Skenes aimed what appeared to be veiled criticism at the team for not putting together a roster capable of winning.
“Not everything is within any other individual in here’s power,” Skenes said. “That’s how we get going a little bit. Just control what we can control on an individual level. That’s been my focus. That’s always been my focus.”
“That’s probably been a little bit more difficult this last month or so, but there’s nowhere else to go but to keep going. Just got to keep going.”
Even if Skenes doesn’t hit the trade block this year, the Yankees still have a pending boost to their pitching rotation. Last year’s AL Rookie of the Year, right-hander Luis Gil, is progressing through his rehab after suffering a lat injury in spring training and is on track to return sometime in late June or early July.
