Paul Skenes Reacts to Pirates Opening Day Roster
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PITTSBURGH — Paul Skenes heads into the 2026 season with hopes of winning another Cy Young Award, but more importantly, seeing team success with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Skenes hasn't had much luck with the Pirates so far in his first two seasons, finishing bottom of the National League Central Division standings, but he is now on the best roster he's been on since making his debut in 2024.
Hannah Mears of SportsNet Pittsburgh spoke with Skenes about the upcoming season and what he sees from the Opening Day roster, with their first game just days away.
Skenes is ready for the start of the season and likes what he sees in the players that will make their journey to face the New York Mets at Citi Field on March 26
“Well, we’ve got a lot of talent," Skenes said. "We have a lot of really good pitchers on the staff. We have a lot of buy-in to the culture that we’re trying to create, what we’re working to do every day. Everybody’s pushing in the same direction so we’ve been doing it a month-and-a-half now at Spring Training and it’s time to go do it for 162 in the regular season.”
Why Skenes is Confident in This Group
The Pirates made a number of important moves this offseason, including signing free agents in Ryan O'Hearn and Marcell Ozuna, plus trading for Brandon Lowe.
All three players bring strong bats, veteran presences, and power to a lineup that hit an MLB-low 117 home runs.
O'Hearn has averaged around 15 home runs and an .800 OPS the past three seasons, Ozuna is one of four National League hitters at least 20 home runs over each of the past four season and Lowe led all second baseman with 31 home runs in 2025.
The Pirates also have a strong pitching staff, with Skenes, plus veteran Mitch Keller and rookies in Braxton Ashcraft and Bubba Chandler as starters, plus Carmen Mlodzinksi joining them in the rotation.
Pittsburgh's bullpen also boasts some top arms, that helped post 19 shutouts, the most in MLB in 2025. This includes the likes of
The Pirates also have some returning players in outfielders Oneil Cruz and Bryan Reynolds and infielder Spencer Horwitz that will play a big role, plus younger players in utility option Nick Yorke and outfielder Billy Cook, who earned the last two roster spots.
Skenes sees the combination of new additions, older players and prospects that the Pirates have and he thinks that it makes for a strong roster overall, with everyone doing what's needed to build a winning culture.t
“Yeah I think we’ve got a good mix and there’s a certain type of person that we have, the young guy who’s breaking with the team and even the young guys, they’re hungry, they want to win, they want to do things the right way," Skenes said.
"They’ve done a good job of putting the roster together and so much of it is out of hands as players and we’re finally seeing the fruits of that and seeing the roster take shape, it’s pretty cool to see just the type of person we have on the team.”
Dominic writes for Pittsburgh Pirates On SI, Pittsburgh Panthers Pn SI and also, Pittsburgh Steelers On SI. A Pittsburgh native, Dominic grew up watching Pittsburgh Sports and wrote for The Pitt News as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, covering Pitt Athletics. He would write for Pittsburgh Sports Now after college and has years of experience covering sports across Pittsburgh.