Paul Skenes: I Haven't Given a Possible Pirates Contract Extension 'Too Much Thought'

Pitcher Paul Skenes, the 2024 National League Rookie of the Year, has plenty on his plate, but his future and a potential extension with the Pittsburgh Pirates are not among his current concerns.

"I haven't given it too much thought," Skenes said Sunday, per Will Graves of the Associated Press.

The 22-year-old LSU product is under club control for five more seasons.

The team's lack of offseason spending has frustrated fans, who fear they are living on borrowed time with the standout pitcher entering his second season without knowing how long he'll be with the club.

Billboard campaigns have sprung up, urging Pirates chairman Bob Nutting to sell the team, while chants of "Sell the team!" erupted at the team's annual fanfest. In response, team CEO Travis Williams stated that Nutting has no interest in selling, per ESPN.

Skenes doesn't seem eager to move on either, highlighting the team's young core and recent coaching staff changes as signs of progress following back-to-back 76-86 seasons, per the Gaines.

"The group that we have from last year is going to be better I think than we were last year," Skenes said, per Gaines. "We're going to have more experience. I don't think you can overstate the impact that coaches can have on it, too, so we made some good additions there. It's not a complicated thing. It's hard to do, but it's not complicated."

The young phenom is not fixated on the future, with the upcoming season as his main focus. The Pirates are also moving away from the inning limits that were imposed on Skenes last season to protect his arm.

"I'm going to be ready to throw 240 innings," said Skenes, who went 11-3 with a 1.96 ERA in 23 starts. "It's not going to be 160 innings again. I know that. It's gonna be much more, 'Take the ball and pitch.'"