Pirates
Passan: ‘Real Argument to Be Made’ Pirates Should Trade Paul Skenes at Highest Value

ESPN’s Jeff Passan joined the Pat McAfee Show to discuss Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes joining Team USA for the 2026 World Baseball Classic
The conversation between Passan and those on the show highlighted Skenes’ deep patriotism, but talks quickly shifted to the current state of the Pirates.
“The truth is, to Paul Skenes, these are gonna be the most competitive games, as long as he’s a Pittsburgh Pirate, that he plays before he reaches free agency,” Passan said on Skenes committing to play for Team USA.
Despite Skenes’ efforts this season, the Pirates have a 14-29 record and are in last place in the National League Central. The MLB odds are against them nightly. The team already made a change at manager as Derek Shelton was fired last week and replaced by former bench coach Don Kelly.
In addition to the poor on-field play, the Pirates have been the subject of several self-inflicted blunders and other bad publicity throughout the first first seven weeks of the season.
But the biggest reason for the fan unrest that is seemingly at an all-time high is because of frustrations with owner Bob Nutting and a continued reluctance to invest in the team.
“It’s not just Paul Skenes who deserves better, it’s Pittsburgh Pirates fans who deserve better,” Passan explained. “They deserve a system that allows teams to keep great players. In some cases, guys will stay with small-market teams. We’ve seen that … But what incentive does Paul Skenes have to extend with the Pirates when the Pirates haven’t shown the willingness from Bob Nutting all the way down, or the ability to bring in guys who are going to make this team better? The Pirates haven’t shown that they are worthy of a Paul Skenes extension at this point.”
After the 2025 season, the Pirates will have Skenes under club control through 2029 before he reaches free agency at the end of that season.
While Passan said he doesn’t see a trade happening this early, he believes teams will call during this year’s trade deadline, and that an argument can be made for the Pirates to make a deal, even though he personally wouldn’t.
“The truth is, there are already teams that are going to ask about Paul Skenes at the trade deadline this year. I don’t anticipate that he’s going to be moved, but there’s a real argument to be made the best thing for the Pittsburgh Pirates would be to move Paul Skenes when he has his most value. It’s a depressing reality. “
A trade of Skenes this year would create even more unrest, and understandably so. But at some point in the not too distant future, the Pirates are going to have to face reality.
You can either try and build a winning team around him, which should have been done this offseason given his low salary but for whatever reason did not happen. You could also send shockwaves through baseball with an extension.
Or, you could trade him for an unprecedented haul by sacrificing him for filling out the roster with as much talent as you can.
A trade is almost a guarantee at some point down the road. I highly doubt it will be this offseason, but the Pirates have to weigh all their options.
"Paul Skenes and the Pittsburgh Pirates fans deserve better..
What incentive does he have to extend with the Pirates right now..
The Pirates haven't shown that they are worthy of a Paul Skenes extension at this point" ~ @JeffPassan#PMSLive pic.twitter.com/eCkkgMFb7y
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) May 14, 2025