While Paul Skenes continues to shine in Major League Baseball with numbers never seen before for a pitcher at the start of his career, the New York Yankees are in the midst of one of their worst crises in recent times. These two opposing realities inevitably attract the two parties, who may at some point along the way be destined to meet, but not at any price.
Skenes, a pitcher who has posted an impressive 1.99 ERA in his first 46 MLB outings, seems to fit perfectly with a big-market club like the Yankees, who would not hesitate to add one of the game’s generational talents to join two other pitching prodigies in Gerrit Cole and Max Fried
For now, Skenes and the Yankees seem to be on separate paths. At the last trade deadline, Pittsburgh made it clear that it would not trade its great pitching star. In fact, the Pirates got rid of several important players and declared the right-hander untouchable, as he is the cornerstone of the franchise for the future.
The Pirates let go of key players such as reliever David Bednar and third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes, adopting a seller’s stance that made clear their intentions to rebuild around Skenes and try to be more competitive in the medium term.
However, in those trades they did not obtain high-caliber prospects that invite optimism or excite the fans, who are increasingly fearful that the franchise’s moves will end up disappointing Skenes and driving him away from the team.
The Yankees’ bargaining chip
The Yankees, for their part, also declared outfielder Spencer Jones untouchable, the most renowned prospect in their farm system. A left-handed hitter with a lot of power, Jones could be the ideal trade chip in a deal for Skenes, something the Bombers are very clear about.
During the most recent trade deadline, the New Yorkers ensured that Jones would only move in a potential deal for Skenes. Several teams with top players who would have helped the Yankees in this decisive stretch of the season asked about Spencer, but the answer was always the same: “we only trade him for Paul Skenes”.
In this way, the Yankees had to decline negotiations for Eugenio Suarez, Zac Gallen or Sandy Alcantara, top-level players who could have landed in New York if general manager Brian Cashman had given up Spencer Jones in any of the deals. However, that did not happen and we do not even know if it will be feasible in the future.
In 2025, for example, Jones has 29 home runs, 60 RBIs, 74 runs scored and an impressive offensive line (Average/On-base percentage/Slugging/OPS) of .300/.403/.657/.1.060 in 77 games between Double-A and Triple-A. These are heavyweight credentials to be included in any trade for a high-caliber player, but the Yankees have preferred to wait and give him a chance to make the jump to the majors in pinstripes..
Everyone is watching Olivia Dunne
When talking about the future of Paul Skenes, everyone is always looking for clues from his girlfriend Olivia Dunne. Just a few days ago, for example, the renowned influencer unleashed a wave of speculation with a post on her social media in which she suggested that the couple may be looking to move to New York.
On her TikTok account, Dunne shared a video walking the streets of the Big Apple accompanied by the following message: “What the NYC realtor hears when I’m back in NYC looking for an apartment.”
After this, social media was flooded with comments and messages of enthusiasm, with fans expressing their hope to see the talented pitcher wearing the Yankees jersey. However, at the moment that is just a utopia, as neither the Pirates are willing to let Skenes go nor the Yankees to let go of the main piece that would open the doors to a potential trade.
Read the full article here
