Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes has supposedly been privately open about his desire to play for one specific team.
One of Skenes’ Pirates teammates anonymously told Randy Miller of NJ Advance Media that Skenes has “no confidence the Pirates ever are going to win” and hopes to be traded before the end of the 2029 season, at which point he can become a free agent.
“Trust me, he wants to play for the Yankees,” the teammate said. “I’ve heard him say it multiple times.”
If true, one could certainly understand why Skenes has a dim view of the Pirates’ future. The organization has been publicly criticized for refusing to spend money and essentially doing nothing to support Skenes, who is arguably the best pitcher in baseball already. Even though Skenes posted a 1.97 ERA last season, the Pirates went just 17-15 in his starts and 71-91 overall.
The Yankees would probably love to have Skenes. They reportedly tried to trade for him last season, but the Pirates rebuffed them.
With Skenes under team control for the next four seasons, the Pirates have little urgency to trade him, and that is still the case now. If he really does want to leave Pittsburgh, he will likely have to wait several years until his free agency is looming.
