A Blockbuster Paul Skenes Trade to Make Yankees' Dreams Come True

If Paul Skenes is known for one thing, it's his pitching. If he's known for another thing, it's the rumor that he wants to be a New York Yankee.

Last November, the 2024 NL Rookie of the Year and 2025 NL Cy Young Award winner denied a report that he has said "multiple times" that he wants to be a Yankee. Yet the Yankees have expressed interest in a trade , and a reporter even referred to him as a " future Yankee " to his face at the All-Star Game.

To be clear, the Pittsburgh Pirates have never expressed any willingness to trade Skenes. That's what you'd expect, given that he's a No. 1 pick who needed no time at all to place himself among the best young pitchers in MLB history.

Yet if Pirates GM Ben Cherington ever has the will to trade Skenes, Yankees GM Brian Cashman would surely find a way. We have an idea that could work for both sides this offseason.

Why the Time May Be Right for the Pirates to Trade Skenes

In July, Ben Clemens of FanGraphs ranked Skenes as having the 11th-highest trade value of any player in MLB, albeit with a caveat: "You couldn't trade for Paul Skenes. It's not on the table."

The justification was in what Skenes did for the Pirates in 2024 and 2025. He posted a 1.96 ERA in 55 starts, a new record for a pitcher's first two seasons.

Cut to now, though, and Skenes has a 3.78 ERA in 30 starts this season. Could be nothing. Or, could be something .

Either way, Cherington needs to ask himself if Skenes' trade value can only go lower. Beyond the sheer jolt of this year's performance, he's also headed for the first of three arbitration-eligible seasons before free agency. Michael Ginnitti of Spotrac projected $46 million in earnings over the next three years, which is more than even Tarik Skubal earned in his arb years.

Meanwhile, Skenes isn't the Bucs' only hope for an ace to carry their rotation in future years. Bubba Chandler and Jared Jones have that kind of upside. Down on the farm, Seth Hernandez is rising fast, who B/R's Joel Reuter ranked as MLB's No. 5 prospect.

Pitching a Yankees-Pirates Paul Skenes Blockbuster

New York Yankees get: RHP Paul Skenes, OF Bryan Reynolds

Pittsburgh Pirates get: 1B Ben Rice, OF Spencer Jones, RHP Elmer Rodríguez (MLB No. 82), RHP Carlos Lagrange (MLB No. 100)

The Rice inclusion stands out, and the idea is to sell high on a player who couldn't have stronger "Sell high!" energy. He has 38 home runs, but only nine of those have come in the second half. He's also not young, as he'll turn 28 years old in February.

As impressive as Jones has been as a rookie (111 OPS+, 10 HR), his 36.0 K% shows he's lost none of the volatility that made him such a polarizing prospect. He's a sensible sacrifice, as are Rodríguez and Lagrange if the prize is Skenes.

This trade would allow the Yankees to join Skenes with Cam Schlittler , Max Fried , Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodón for the next three years. The Yankees already have MLB's best starting pitching ERA right now , so adding Skenes could push their rotation into a rare tier. For example, think "2011 Philadelphia Phillies."

For his part, Reynolds is an aging yet still effective hitter who would bring a career 118 OPS+ to New York. He could slot into left field, allowing the Yankees to form an outfield with him, Cody Bellinger in center and Aaron Judge in right.

The Pirates have risen from last in the NL in scoring in 2025 to fifth in 2026, but they'll have to replace Brandon Lowe and his 31 home runs when free agency calls this offseason.

This is where Rice and Jones would come in. Each would bring 30-homer potential to Pittsburgh for years. Rice is controlled through 2030. Jones through 2032.

Pittsburgh would also be cutting $63 million in salary through 2030 by shedding Reynolds. That money could be reinvested in free agency, preferably through reinforcements for a bullpen that needs more help for Mason Montgomery .

Even if the Pirates can be confident they have enough arms for the future without Skenes, any trade involving him needs an insurance-policy element. This is why Rodríguez and Lagrange would have to be involved in a deal with the Yankees.

Rodríguez's control needs refinement, but he has as many as three plus pitches and has already made his major league debut. Lagrange is more of an unknown, specifically regarding whether he's a starter or a reliever. Yet the sales pitch is simple: 103 mph fastball .

Could the Mets Beat This in a New York Bidding War?

If Skenes is on the block this winter, the Yankees won't be the only team interested in him.

The Mets would have to be another, at least if we're assuming David Stearns will be in butt-saving mode. Steve Cohen is backing his president of baseball operations publicly, but the reality of 2026 is that Stearns built a Franken-roster that has achieved all-time embarrassment, even by Mets standards.

So, here's what the Mets' version of the Yankees' pitch could look like:

New York Mets get: RHP Paul Skenes, OF Bryan Reynolds

Pittsburgh Pirates get: OF Carson Benge, 3B Jefferson Rojas (MLB No. 79), RHP Jonah Tong (MLB No. 88)

Why Benge? The Mets have only two high-value trade chips. Benge is one. Nolan McLean is the other, and trading him for Skenes would be robbing Peter to pay Paul. It would be better to aim for a Skenes-McLean duo, with Reynolds taking Benge's spot.

Is this better than the Yankees' offer? That depends on how the Bucs value Benge, and that should be highly. He's only 23, yet he's already threatening a 20-20 season while sitting on 3.4 rWAR. He and Konnor Griffin would be a heck of a duo for the Pirates to build a lineup around.

As fun as it is to sit around a table cooking up prospective trades for Skenes, only one thing matters: Whether Cherington is willing to budge.

He has been blunt about his intentions to keep Skenes, and Cashman knows about that better than most. Per Jon Heyman of the New York Post , Cashman's attempts to engage the Bucs on Skenes before the 2025 trade deadline were "shut down so quickly the Pirates didn't even listen to the offer."

This isn't ancient history yet, and the Bucs are currently having their best season since 2018. Is now really the time for a reset, or is it time to keep Skenes and push the pedal to the metal in building around him?

And yet, Cherington must be hearing the little devil on his shoulder make pointed remarks. He must know he can't possibly extend Skenes . Then there's that lingering question: Is this winter his last best chance to get fair value for Skenes?

It isn't just Skenes' results that have taken a turn for the worse. Relative to 2024, he's lost 2 mph off his average fastball and 5.3 percentage points off his strikeout rate. Skenes doesn't seem injured, but he did hint at fatigue in August. The Pirates can either shrug it off or treat it as a long-term threat, one that could potentially be someone else's problem on the other side of a trade robbery.

The more you think about it, the less crazy it seems to anticipate a Skenes trade this winter. Regardless, you can rest assured that the Yankees will be checking in either way.

Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference , FanGraphs and Baseball Savant .