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Pittsburgh Pirates General Manager Ben Charrington has made it clear that despite the team’s brutal start to the season, he will not trade Ace Paul Skens.
22 year old Skenz has it Get MLB He’s already one of the best pitchers in the sport since his debut last year. Fans and experts theorize that the moving Suken will now win a return in trade that could bring the pirates back into the fight.
But Cherington closed the concept.
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Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skens (30) faced the Philadelphia Phillies in the ninth inning at Citizens Bank Park on May 18, 2025. (Kyle Ross-Imagn image)
“No, that’s not part of the conversation,” Cherington said Wednesday.
The Pirates were 17-34 this season, their last in NL Central, with no team winning a baseball run. They scored 151 runs this season, 13 is the next closest team, Chicago White Sox.
The Pirates have an average batting average of .219, the second lowest in baseball. Suken’s trade will provide the talent to inject the Pirates with a lineup while he maintains team control for the remaining decade.
Cherington knows the lineup is a problem, but he doesn’t want to trade Suken.
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Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skens (30) will pitch the pitch against the Philadelphia Phillies in three innings at Citizens Bank Park on May 18, 2025. (Kyle Ross-Imagn image)
“We need to improve,” Cherington said. “Let’s play better baseball. It will lead to winning more games. Then, let’s wake up when we reach July and see where it goes.”
“I want to knock the Triple A guy on the door,” Cherington said. “That’s a good thing. I think there’s still a chance that this year could happen. We want more over time. …Everyone knows we have to get more runs, and it’s not going to happen just by saying that and hoping for that.”
Skenes’ final start was the opposite. Philadelphia Phillies Last weekend, the Skenes limited the Phillies to three hits and threw the first full game of his career.
The Pirates fired manager Derek Shelton a few weeks ago, but that hasn’t changed the way they lose.
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Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitchers (L to R) Carmen Murozinski (50), Andrew Heaney (45), Mitch Keller (23) and Paul Skenneth (30) are walking from the bullpen before facing the Cincinnati Red on May 20, 2025 at PNC Park. (Charles Leclair Imagni image)
The starting spin is solid, but it has received little help from the lineup or the bullpen.
Skenes (2.44), Mitch Keller (3.88), Andrew Heaney (2.91) and Bailey Falter (3.50) were all great, but they also combine 11-21 records.
With a career start of 33, the Skenes were 14-8, ERA was 2.12, and an astounding 232 strikeouts were pitched in a career inning of 195.2.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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