The Pirates Should Shut Down Paul Skenes for the Rest of the Season

With Pittsburgh being a playoff longshot and Skenes showing obvious signs of fatigue, it’s time to punt on 2026.

Paul Skenes has struggled for much of the summer as the Pirates lose ground in the NL wild-card race. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

After winning the NL Cy Young in his first full season in MLB last year, Paul Skenes has had a rather rocky road in 2026. He was mostly excellent for the first two-plus months of the season, but the wheels have come off and he’s been struggling throughout much of the summer.

Skenes’s velocity has dipped this season, particularly over the last two months. On the year, his four-seam fastball is averaging 96.8 mph, down from 98.1 mph last season and 98.8 mph in his rookie campaign. In fact, during his recent start against the Marlins on Aug. 11, Skenes’s fastball averaged just 95.8 mph, the lowest in any game of his career. He registered just 65 pitches in that game before being removed after five innings.

Something’s not right with the Pirates’ star righthander. As SI’s Tom Verducci noted, Skenes’s mechanics are off, and he seems to be lacking confidence on the mound.

“Skenes is not hurt. He simply looks exhausted. The mechanical tweaks and the burden of not pitching well as Pittsburgh fell out of the race have worn him down. He needs a break,” wrote Verducci.

The 24-year-old had his scheduled start on Sunday pushed back until Wednesday, giving him three additional days of rest as a means of combatting any exhaustion he might be dealing with. That didn’t seem to fix things, however. When he took the mound Wednesday against the Tigers, he needed 81 pitches to make it through 4 1/3 innings and surrendered three earned runs while issuing four walks and striking out five batters. After his struggles in Detroit, his season ERA has ballooned to 3.95, almost two full runs higher than his previous career-high (1.97 in 2025).

Skenes hasn’t earned a win since July 19. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

As Pittsburgh continues to slump post All-Star break, it may be time to consider putting Skenes on the shelf for the rest of the season. He has not pitched well for several weeks, and the Pirates have fallen 5 1/2 games back in the race for the final National League wild card spot, with FanGraphs giving them just a 4.8% chnace to reach the playoffs. With the postseason slipping further out of their grasp, protecting their prized ace must become a priority.

Over the last two months, dating back to his start on June 26, Skenes has pitched six innings in just two of 10 starts. During that span, he’s surrendered three-plus runs in six outings and has only recorded three games with eight or more strikeouts. He’s pitched 51 innings and surrendered 33 earned runs––equating to a concerning 5.82 ERA—issued 23 walks and has 64 strikeouts in that span.

He’s looked anything but Skenes-like over the course of a near two-month span. Seeing as the eight-day rest period between his last two starts failed to alleviate his woes on the mound, the Pirates may need to consider more significant measures, especially after losing nine of 15 games following the trade deadline. If Skenes isn’t at his best, which he clearly has not been, Pittsburgh’s chances of competing and making a deep run in October will be slim. As such, it may well be time to prioritize the future—a time when a fully charged Skenes could help his franchise win its first World Series since 1979—rather than a present where he’s actively hurting their slim playoff odds.

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