Inside The Pinstripes

Yankees Land Pirates Superstar in Trade Idea

The New York Yankees could have interest in a Pittsburgh Pirates star should he hit the trade block.

Jack Markowski

May 18, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes (30) throws a pitch against the Philadelphia Phillies in the third inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images
May 18, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes (30) throws a pitch against the Philadelphia Phillies in the third inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images / Kyle Ross-Imagn Images
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As has become protocol, the New York Yankees have been mentioned as a potential trade destination for one of MLB's top young stars.

The Pittsburgh Pirates, to put it bluntly, are perhaps the league's least successful franchise over the past 30 years. They own the second-longest active playoff drought at nine years and haven't won their division since 1992. Furthermore, the club has finished above .500 just once since 2015 while having multiple 100-loss campaigns on their ledger during the 2020s.

Amidst their futility, however, the Pirates were awarded the No. 1 overall pick via the draft lottery in 2023. With that selection, they chose right-handed pitcher Paul Skenes, who quickly established himself as one of the top prospects in recent memory.

Since making his major league debut on May 11 last year, the 22-year-old has posted a 2.12 ERA, 232 strikeouts and 7.8 bWAR over 33 starts and 195 2/3 innings. He's already on the short list of the best pitchers in the league, but some worry that he's going to toil away without anything to show for it in Pittsburgh.

ESPN's Jeff Passan believes the Pirates, who currently own the third-worst record in baseball at 15-32, should look into trading away Skenes while his value is at an all-time high.

“The Pirates, including 2025, have five years of club control before he reaches free agency," Passan said on "The Pat McAfee Show". "If they believe that they have absolutely no chance of signing him, then they should trade him. You can make the argument that they should trade him now, I’m not going to because I think the Pirates, with some of the players that they have coming up, they would have a chance to win if they were to go out and actually bring in some offensive players and sign some free agents.

"But the truth is, there are teams that already 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 that the best thing for the Pittsburgh Pirates would be to move Paul Skenes while he has his most value."

As Passan noted, there's little to no chance Skenes will be on the move this summer. He's too bright of a star for Pittsburgh to move on from at this juncture, and whatever goodwill the organization has left with its fan base, which isn't much, would be thrown out the window.

Even so, Heavy's Sam Bernardi cooked up a mock trade involving the Yankees and Pirates that would send Skenes to the Bronx for Luis Gil, Spencer Jones and Ben Hess.

Realistically, that package wouldn't come close to getting the job done. Gil is a talented young arm who's under team control through 2028 and won AL Rookie of the Year last season with a 3.50 ERA over 29 starts and 151 2/3 innings, but he has yet to appear in the game this year while dealing with a lat strain.

Jones, who MLB Pipeline ranks as the Yankees' No. 2 prospect, is an intriguing power bat whose OPS sits at .926 with nine home runs with Double-A Somerset so far this season, but he's also in his third campaign with the affiliate at 24-years-old and has major strikeout issues to iron out.

Hess, who comes in at No. 3 on Pipeline's list, was New York's first-round pick at No. 26 overall last year. The University of Alabama product is carrying a 3.23 ERA through his first six professional starts with High-A Hudson Valley this season.

While all three of those players are valuable, the Yankees would likely have to tack on the likes of Ben Rice, Jasson Dominguez and/or George Lombard Jr., their No. 1 prospect, just for Pittsburgh to take them seriously, let alone actually consummate a trade.

New York has plenty of young talent that could be used to bring in other pieces or help its own major league club down the line, but a move for Skenes is not in the cards at the moment.

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Jack Markowski
JACK MARKOWSKI

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