Last week, a report from NJ Advance Media’s Randy Miller quoted an anonymous Pirates teammate who allegedly heard Skenes talk about wanting to play for the Yankees and getting traded well before he reaches free agency after the 2029 season. Skenes, however, quickly shut down that speculation last week and did so again on his appearance with Patrick.
“I was frustrated for a couple of hours and then got over it and talked to the media later that night,” Skenes said. “It is what it is. There’s stuff that’s gonna come out, good and bad. Obviously, it’s not true.”
In his first two seasons, Skenes had a 1.97 ERA and 0.95 WHIP across 55 starts, made the NL All-Star team both years, won the NL Rookie of the Year in 2024 and took home the NL Cy Young Award in ‘25. This past season, Skenes had a 1.96 ERA across 187 2/3 innings, taking home all 30 first-place Cy Young Award votes and winning the fourth such award in Pirates history.
Skenes will enter the 2026 season as the unquestioned top starter in the National League and arguably the Majors along with Detroit’s Tarik Skubal. Skenes is under club control with the Pirates for at least the next four seasons and won’t reach arbitration for the first time until next offseason.
