According to Dan Zangrilli, Pirates pre-and-postgame host on 93.7 The Fan, the team has already tried to extend starting pitching-phenom Paul Skenes.
Zangrilli tells The PM Team that the Pirates see signing Skenes to an extension “as a longshot, an uphill battle, but that’s not going to deter them from trying.”
He says the Pirates are going to do everything they can to try and keep Skenes, but with Skenes already showing what he can do and the potential he has to be an all-time great, his next contract may be one that only a team like the Dodgers or Yankees could make a reality.
The Pirates have one more year of pre-arbitration control with Skenes before he enters arbitration in 2027.
His current deal with Pittsburgh ends after the 2029 season and his three arbitration years are expected to break records.
Zangrilli says for the Pirates to get a deal done with Skenes, they would have to get creative.
He says the contract would guarantee around six years, with an opt out “and maybe he gives you plus one where you get like a seventh (season) so you can fully, truly realize all of those years of controls.”
Listen to the entire conversation above.
Skenes was named the National League Pitcher of the Year for July.
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