The Pittsburgh Pirates’ general manager Ben Cherington made it clear that, despite the team’s brutal start to the season, they will not trade ace Paul Skenes.
Skenes, 22, has taken MLB by storm since his debut last year and is already one of the sport’s best pitchers. Fans and experts have theorized that moving Skenes now would garner a return in a trade that could propel the Pirates back into contention.
However, Cherington shut that notion down.
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“No, it’s not part of the conversation at all,” Cherington said on Wednesday.
The Pirates are 17-34 this season and last in NL Central, and no team has scored fewer runs in baseball. They have scored 151 runs this season, 13 runs less than the next closest team, the Chicago White Sox.
The Pirates’ team batting average is .219, which is the second-lowest in baseball. A trade of Skenes, while he remains under team control for the rest of the decade, would provide the Pirates with a bevy of talent that could infuse their lineup.
Cherington knows the lineup is an issue, but does not want to trade Skenes.
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“We’ve just got to get better,” Cherington said. “Let’s play better baseball, and that’s going to lead to winning more games. Then, let’s wake up and see where that takes us when we get to July.”
“We want guys from Triple-A to pound the door down,” Cherington said. “That would be good. I still think that can happen this year. We want more of it over time. . . . Everybody knows we’ve got to score more runs. That’s not going to happen just by saying it and hoping for it. You’ve got to do the work to do it.”
Skenes last start was against the Philadelphia Phillies last weekend, in which Skenes limited the Phillies to three hits while throwing the first complete game of his career.
The Pirates fired manager Derek Shelton a couple of weeks ago, but that hasn’t changed their losing ways.
The starting rotation has been solid but has received little help from the lineup or bullpen.
Skenes (2.44), Mitch Keller (3.88), Andrew Heaney (2.91) and Bailey Falter (3.50) have all been great, yet they also have a combined record of 11-21.
In 33 career starts, Skenes is 14-8 with a 2.12 ERA and an astounding 232 strikeouts in 195.2 career innings pitched.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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