Pirates Star Among Players Who Need Contract Extension
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The Pittsburgh Pirates were able to sign third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes, outfielder Bryan Reynolds and right-handed starting pitcher Mitch Keller to team-friendly contract extensions before they got close to hitting free agency.
Could Pittsburgh follow a similar path with star right-handed pitcher Paul Skenes? Bleacher Report's Zachary Rymer listed 10 players who must get a contract extension from their team and tabbed Skenes as one of the top candidates.
"That the Bucs should want to keep Skenes for the foreseeable future pretty much goes without saying," Rymer writes. '"Sensational' barely begins to describe his NL Rookie of the Year-winning 2024 season, in which he posted the lowest ERA by a live-ball era rookie starter."
Skenes delivered one of the greatest rookie seasons in MLB history, and as a result, won the 2024 National League Rookie of the Year and finished third for the NL Cy Young Award. He was just the fifth pitcher in baseball history to finish in the top five for both awards in the same season. Skenes was also the first rookie pitcher to start an All-Star game since Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Hideo Nomo in 1995.
Skenes went 11-3 with a 1.96 ERA in 23 starts and set a Pirates franchise record for a rookie with 170 strikeouts over 133 innings pitched. He was also the first pitcher in MLB history to have an ERA below 2.20, over 150 strikeouts in their first 21 games and the second pitcher since 1913 to have an ERA below 2.00 through their first 22 appearances.
While getting Skenes to agree to a contract extension would make a world of sense for Pittsburgh, the reigning NL Rookie of the Year said he hasn't heard much
"Haven't heard a whole lot," Skenes said. "I haven't given it too much thought."
For Skenes, it'd make sense for him to wait. If he can maintain this level of performance, the price is only going to go up for the star right-hander and potentially give him a chance to sign the largest deal ever by a starting pitcher.
Pittsburgh has typically been reluctant to sign players to big deals or contract extensions, but if it doesn't break that trend for Skenes, then it's fair to wonder who will be worth that kind of deal for the Pirates.
