The Pirates have a generational talent on their hands, someone who’s pitching like a man possessed. With a star like that in the rotation, you’d expect them to be climbing leaderboards, right? But instead, Pittsburgh is wasting brilliance in broad daylight. Every time Paul Skenes takes the mound, dominance is expected to be guaranteed. What follows, however, is out of his hands and often is a disaster. The 23-year-old has built an almost pitch-perfect stat sheet, only to watch his team drag it through the mud. And yet, even with trade chatter heating up, Skenes doesn’t seem fazed.

The reigning NL Rookie of the Year has been phenomenal this season too, already matching ‘once-in-a-generation’ hype on the mound. But what about his team? They’ve been practically invisible this season. They’re sitting with an embarrassing 23-40 record at the bottom of the NL Central. And Skenes is looking at grim stats this team has awarded, as a dark spot in his otherwise stellar stat sheet. He has got the best bWAR, WHIP, opponent average and even Win Probability Added. Then what is the issue?

Apparently, the team never wins when he starts the game for them. It sounds oddly eerie, right? But it is unfortunately true. Their record in his 13 outings this year is 5-8, and during his past seven outings, it’s even gloomier, 2-5. Guess Skenes’ ERA in that stretch? 1.77. This doesn’t even make sense. Naturally, when a starter pitches like this, a win should follow, but the Pirates have managed to keep handing him the short end of the stick.

For instance, take his last outing against the Houston Astros; he pitched 8 innings that night at PNC Park. His ERA? 2.05. Despite that, they lost that one 0-3, to record their 10th scoreless game. Skenes has pitched at least eight innings three times in his two-year career, and the Pirates have lost all three of them. With the recent addition, he now has 21 career starts with no wins despite a dazzling 2.59 ERA in those games. That record is his alone to hold, no other team has sunk this low with a starter that good. They’re clearly dimming his brilliance, but Skenes, on the other hand, doesn’t seem to mind.

He has pledged his allegiance to the Pirates, even amid a large number of trade rumours. He could easily opt for a better team, as he has proven how valuable he is. But last month, addressing the rumours, he said to Jason Mackey, “When I got drafted, I came in with the intention of winning a World Series here. That hasn’t changed. I don’t think my days here are numbered by any means.”And of course, the Pirates have no plans to let go of their ace either, as the owner, Bob Nutting, has made his stance clear. But it is an unavoidable fact that someone like Skenes deserves a better offensive team. Rumours even link him to the Red Sox, a team that could desperately use an ace like him at this point.

Red Sox could bet big on Paul Skenes

For the Pirates, it doesn’t seem to matter how long or how well their generational gem pitches. The result they have is always the same. It is rare to see Skenes’ name in the scoreboard next to WP. With trade rumours swirling and the Pirates most likely to become sellers, the Red Sox are expected to pounce on the opportunity. And they are suggested to sacrifice their crown jewel from Worcester, Roman Anthony.

According to Jim Bowden of The Athletic, Boston should consider trading Anthony in a blockbuster deal to acquire Skenes. “Boston has a chance to build a dominant one-two punch with Paul Skenes and Garrett Crochet,” Bowden wrote. He also laid out some more prospects the Red Sox could use to get Skenes, such as Franklin Arias, Romy González, and Luis Perales in exchange for the 23-year-old rookie.

Skenes is the kind of talent Boston could use right now. He could even become the next Pedro Martinez for them, and paired with the Red Sox, could become an instant threat. But Boston is expected to also consider that Anthony is currently the No. 1 position-player prospect in baseball; sacrificing him is definitely a gamble. But Skenes is worth every gamble — he’s proven time and again that the problem isn’t him, it’s the team. Even after Skenes shut down the trade talk, the rumours have refused to fade. He has a chance to make his efforts really matter with a winning team, but only if he changes his mind.