The Pittsburgh Pirates have spent years in the MLB basement, and Paul Skenes is sending a clear message about how that cannot continue.
Skenes sent what sounded like an urgent message about his expectations for the Pirates in a new interview. The young pitcher said it is clear that Pittsburgh is a baseball town, and that the fans are waiting for something to cheer about. The team absolutely has to give it to them.
“I think we owe something to the city,” Skenes said, via Alex Stumpf of MLB.com. “We owe a lot to the city. It’s our job to go out and win for the city because this is bigger than all of us. There’s a reason why (Andrew McCutchen) keeps coming back, and specifically to Pittsburgh.
“There’s something about this city. We saw it last summer. We’ve seen it in the videos of the Wild Card Game [in 2013]. I’m tired of watching them because it was a Wild Card Series. The bar needs to be set pretty high. Not taking anything from those guys. The fact that that’s a golden era of recent Pirates baseball, that needs to change. We owe it to the city.”
Pirates fans will no doubt love the ambition of their 22-year-old ace. This could also very easily read as a message to the front office and ownership. The team has a reputation for being a small-market organization that does not spend money, and fans have called for owner Bob Nutting to sell.
The Pirates have a major building block in Skenes, who appears to be an ace for years to come. The questions will start to grow quickly if the team cannot win with him. They essentially have a five-year window until he becomes eligible for free agency after the 2029 season. By that point, the Pirates will have to either have paid him or let him walk, be it via trade or free agency.
Though the team has posted back-to-back 76-86 seasons, the Pirates have not posted a winning record since 2018. Their last playoff appearance was in 2015, and they have not actually won a full playoff series since the 1979 World Series. Skenes wants to change that, but he cannot do it alone.
Skenes won NL Rookie of the Year honors in 2024 by posting an 11-3 record with a 1.96 ERA. There is some reason to believe he might be even better in 2025.
