NEW YORK — Paul Skenes just had the worst start of his professional career. The New York Yankees are watching. And according to one of baseball’s most connected insiders, they are not done trying.
The Pittsburgh Pirates ace lasted two-thirds of an inning against the New York Mets on Opening Day Thursday at PNC Park. He threw 37 pitches, allowed five earned runs, and left the game with Pittsburgh trailing 5-2. Errors in center field made a bad situation worse. It was, by any measure, an uncharacteristic night for a pitcher who went 10-10 with a 1.97 ERA and 216 strikeouts in 187.2 innings last season.
Whether this game was a blip or something more, the Yankees are paying attention. They have been paying attention for a while now.
The offer Pittsburgh never considered
Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported Thursday that the Yankees attempted to trade for Skenes at the 2025 deadline, putting together a package of four top prospects. Pittsburgh did not even engage with the conversation.
“The Yankees tried for Skenes at the deadline but were shut down so quickly the Pirates did not even listen to the offer,” Heyman reported.
That level of rejection made clear where Pittsburgh stood on the subject. Skenes is 23 years old, under team control through 2029, and the franchise centerpiece of the only competitive rebuild the Pirates have attempted in years. Trading him was never going to happen at the 2025 deadline.
But the Yankees made the call anyway. That decision alone says something about how seriously the organization views Skenes as a generational acquisition target.
At the time, Heyman had reported that New York was willing to include outfielder Spencer Jones and infielder George Lombard Jr., their top two prospects, in a trade package. The Pirates were not interested at any price.
“The Yankees were one of only a handful of teams (fewer than five) that checked in on Paul Skenes even after word was out that the Pirates had no intention of trading the Cy Young leader,” Heyman wrote. “That was the one case where the Yankees were willing to discuss Spencer Jones and George Lombard Jr.”
Why Pittsburgh’s situation bears watching
Heyman also laid out the long-term financial reality that makes this story more than just a rumor-cycle footnote. The Pirates, a small-market club that has not reached the postseason since 2015, face a looming problem with their best player.
Heyman reported the Pirates have “no intention to trade Skenes in the foreseeable future,” but also that there is “little hope to sign him long term under current rules since he will probably be a $50 million-a-year pitcher assuming a payroll cap is not implemented.”
That financial gap is the crux of everything. Pittsburgh cannot realistically offer a contract approaching $50 million per year. If Skenes reaches free agency after 2029 without an extension, the Pirates will get nothing in return for their franchise ace. At some point, the calculus may shift. Trading him for a massive prospect haul becomes more appealing the closer the franchise gets to that scenario without a competitive team around him.
Heyman’s reporting made that dynamic explicit: “Expect the Yankees to circle back if they ever detect even a glimmer of an opening.”
Skenes pushed back on the trade talk
In December, the trade conversation took on a different dimension when an anonymous former Pirates teammate told NJ.com’s Randy Miller that Skenes had privately expressed interest in playing for the Yankees and hoped for a trade before his contract expired.
Skenes addressed the report directly and dismissed it.
“It is what it is,” Skenes said at the time. “There is stuff that is gonna come out, good and bad. Obviously, it is not true.”
Pirates general manager Ben Cherington was equally firm at the MLB general managers’ meetings in November.
“The question gets asked, and it is always respectful,” Cherington said. “Teams have to ask the question. I suspect that will not end. But the answer has been consistent.”
Cherington added: “I do dismiss it, but I understand it. What we are going to focus on is just how do we win games with him in a Pirates uniform. I have a ton of respect for the Yankees, but we will just focus on what we need to do.”
What makes the Yankees credible suitors
The Yankees have the assets and the motivation to pursue Skenes aggressively when the time is right. New York opened the 2026 season without Gerrit Cole, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery. Carlos Rodon is also working through injury. Max Fried is the staff ace, and he proved his quality with a gem in the season opener against the Giants. But adding Skenes would give the Yankees a one-two punch at the top of a rotation that would rank among the best in baseball history.
The Yankees led the majors in runs scored in 2025 and have most of that offense intact entering 2026. Pitching remains the one area where an elite addition could turn a good team into a dynasty. Skenes fits that description precisely.
In his first two big-league seasons, Skenes put together numbers that belong alongside the best starting pitching debuts in modern baseball history. He won the NL Rookie of the Year in 2024 and claimed all 30 first-place Cy Young Award votes in 2025. His career ERA entering this season was 1.97.
One bad game and a long season ahead
Thursday’s opener was a reminder that Skenes is human. The Mets had his number early, aided by two costly defensive miscues in center field that turned a rough inning into a blowout. Opening Day results for aces often mean very little over the course of a full season.
Pittsburgh manager Derek Shelton pulled Skenes after just two outs. The outing raised eyebrows around the league but did not change Skenes’s standing as arguably the best pitcher in baseball when healthy and locked in.
For the Yankees, the bigger picture remains unchanged. Pittsburgh is not trading their ace in the short term. But if the Pirates fall out of contention again in 2026, if the extension talks remain stalled, and if the right package materializes, New York has already shown it is willing to make the call.
Heyman’s reporting makes clear the Yankees are not walking away from this one. They are simply waiting for their moment.
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