Pirates Unlikely to Extend Paul Skenes
In this story:
Pittsburgh Pirates fans shouldn't get their hopes up regarding potential extensions for any of the team's up-and-coming stars, particularly Paul Skenes.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Andrew Destin and Noah Hiles both threw cold water on the chances of the Pirates locking up Skenes long-term, citing the club's other financial commitments as significant roadblocks standing in the way of an agreement.
"I cannot say with confidence that an extension is imminent for any Pirates player," Destin wrote. "There are some logical candidates, like Oneil Cruz, but you have to wonder how much higher the Pirates are willing to allow their payroll to increase considering Bryan Reynolds, Ke’Bryan Hayes and Mitch Keller are all locked up long term. As for Paul Skenes, I cannot say with confidence if anything is on the horizon."
"I haven’t heard much on that front," Hiles wrote. "Cruz perhaps makes the most sense, but I think that would be a long shot. Skenes is obviously the top guy they should try to extend, but I’m not sure if it’s possible at this point."
Time isn't necessarily working against Pittsburgh in this case, but not even entertaining extending Skenes while he's still in pre-arbitration would profile as organizational malpractice.
Sure, it wouldn't come cheap for an owner in Bob Nutting who's shown little to no urgency in building a winning franchise. However, if an exception can't be made for Skenes, perhaps one of baseball's most talented pitchers of the last 25 years, then when exactly will he go against the grain?
One of the closest comparisons for the Pirates ace is Atlanta Braves right-hander Spencer Strider.
Shortly after his rookie season concluded in 2022, he agreed to a six-year contract worth $75 million that bought out his last two pre-arb years, all three of his arbitration campaigns and what would've been his initial year of free agency in 2028.
Furthermore, the Braves hold a $22 million club option for the 2029 campaign with a $5 million buyout.
Skenes would be in line to eclipse that mark by a fair amount, especially if he were to have more free agent years covered, but Strider's pact provides a springboard that could be used as a blueprint in talks between the two sides.
Just to reiterate a previous point, however, there's no indication that Pittsburgh has interest in sitting at the negotiating table. Skenes still has five years of team control remaining, reducing pressure on the team to hammer out an agreement while also helping them save face.
In 2024, Skenes became the second player in Pirates history to take home the National League Rookie of the Year Award after logging a 1.96 ERA with 170 punch outs across 19 starts totaling 133 innings.
His other accolades included starting the All-Star Game for the NL, finishing third in Cy Young voting and breaking Pittsburgh's rookie strikeout record.
Jack is a New Jersey native who graduated from the University of Pittsburgh as a Media & Professional Communications major in 2024 who is now covering the Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Yankees for On SI.