BREAKING NEWS: The Pittsburgh Pirates’ phenomenal ace is about to get out of his contract due to a contentious situation with the manager of the team.

Pirates Should Already be Thinking How to Keep Paul Skenes

Bob Nutting has shown over the past two years that he is occasionally willing to take a leap of financial faith.

The Pittsburgh Pirates owner has signed off on two long-term deals to keep players under contract through the decade’s end. Third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes received an eight-year $70-million contract in 2022 and left fielder Bryan Reynolds signed for eight years and $106.75 million last year.

Nutting was convinced by general manager Ben Cherington and the baseball operations department that Hayes and Reynolds were sound investments. If nothing else, it at least helped Nutting improve a bit on his image of being cheap and not caring about winning.

However, now is the time for the Pirates to make an even bolder move. They need to sign pitching prospect Paul Skenes to a long-term contract. Now.

I understand the arguments against such an idea.

Skenes has yet to pitch in the major leagues and has logged just 6.2 minor-league innings in his budding professional career. There is also the fact that pitchers carry inherent health risks with tendons and ligaments that get stressed to the point that they can tear at any time.

All are valid points. However, I also think the Pirates must leave their comfort zone and enter a long-term relationship.

Skenes had one of the greatest seasons of any pitcher in college baseball history last year. He helped lead LSU to the College World Series championship a year after transferring from the Air Force Academy and was named College Player of the Year by Baseball America.

Skenes wasn’t putting up overpowering statistics against inferior competition, either. He was playing in the Southeastern Conference, which is as good as it gets at the college level.

Those are all reasons the Pirates chose Skenes first overall in last year’s amateur draft and signed him for $9.2 million during cordial negotiations.

While there is never such a thing as a can’t-miss prospect, I have yet to talk to one executive or scout throughout baseball who has anything negative to say about Skenes. Everyone loves his size, pitch arsenal, competitiveness, intelligence and maturity.

The feeling is unanimous that Skenes will blossom into a No. 1 starter and perennial Cy Young Award candidate.