On May 18, 2025, Paul Skenes pitched one of the best games of his young career. Against the Philadelphia Phillies, Skenes pitched eight innings, allowing one run on three hits with nine strikeouts. Yet, the Pirates somehow managed to lose that game by 1-0 to the Phillies. The offense remained flat throughout the game. And just like that, once again, Skenes was left with another loss where the winning odds could be in his favor.

Throughout the 2024 and 2025 seasons, Skenes has lived up to the ‘generational’ label. And now, every aspect of his potential trade is being studied under a microscope. Not to forget, the 22-year-old has only completed one full calendar year with the Pirates.

A Pitts native has now suggested that the Pirates owner Bob Nutting shouldn’t be in a hurry to take a blunt decision on Skenes’ trade.

ESPN’s Arkansas’ Phil Elson, hailing from Pittsburgh, who is the Diamond Hogs’ play-by-play radio announcer, stated, “If you’re (Nutting) going to trade Paul Skenes in his second season and his first full season in the major leagues, then why do you even have a major league team?”

“If the owner, Bob Nutting, is truly considering this, then he needs to have a hard look in the mirror and wonder what it is that he’s doing, because he’s got a generational player,” he further added.

After all, it’s Skenes, a megastar in the making. Ideally, a winning team should be built around his elite arm. Even the thought of trading him is an ‘embarrassing thought’ to Elson.

Skenes himself opened up about his trade buzz. “I don’t expect it to happen,” he said when questioned about his potential trade. “If he (GM Cherington) feels trading me is the right way to go, then he feels that’s the right way to go. But I have to pitch well. That’s the bottom line.”

You heard it. He’s pretty subtle about the whole trade thing. When he’s on the field, all that matters to him is pitching exceptionally well. Also, the trade buzz around the internet is no secret to him.

Paul Skenes calls out social media and news outlets over his trade buzz

All this while, Paul Skenes has heard all the trade talks, the hot takes, and the headlines. “There’s no substance to just all that talk that you hear on social media and news outlets and stuff like that,” he said. He wanted to shut down all the speculations.

Skenes knows how it works; he’s well aware of the business side of this sport. He acknowledged it himself when Derek Shelton was dismissed from his managerial duties on May 8th. While he knows that side, he also knows what his job is— pitch well, perform exceptionally, and repeat. Time and again, he has shared his priorities.

The Pittsburgh Pirates currently have no top prospects to cover when it’ll be a rescue situation. Ideally, the right-handed star should be surrounded with long-term help in his pre-arbitration years. However, the Pirates have signed up for this situation themselves.

They are mired in a terrible offensive slump. To top it all off, their bats have gone cold. Skenes’ pitching alone cannot save the team. All said and done, for now, Skenes will be locked in on his game, despite the fact that other sides of the team are alarmingly weak. The only concern here would be that the Pirates are wasting his prime years.