Paul Skenes Shrugs Off Pirates Trade Rumors, Says 'Anybody Can Play GM'

The Paul Skenes trade talk has gotten so out of control that the Pittsburgh Pirates star was even forced to address it after Friday's 6-5 win over the Milwaukee Brewers.

Speaking to the Associated Press after the game, Skenes said the discussion "doesn't affect anything" because "anybody can play GM."

"There's no substance to just all that talk that you hear on social media and news outlets and stuff like that," he added.

The rumblings started last week on the Pat McAfee Show when ESPN's Jeff Passan, in the midst of criticizing Pirates ownership for a lack of spending to take advantage of having Skenes, said there's an argument for the team to trade him now because of how significant their return would be for a superstar pitcher under team control through 2029.

Passan did point out there's no expectation Skenes would be traded this season, but "there's a real argument to be made that the best thing for the Pittsburgh Pirates would be to move Paul Skenes while he has his most value."

Those comments started to gain traction to the point that Pirates general manager Ben Cherington told reporters on Thursday in no uncertain terms that trading Skenes was "not part of the conversation at all."

Skenes is only making $875,000 this season and has two more years of control before even getting to arbitration, so any trade return for the Pirates would be astronomical.

Of course, the response from Pirates fans would probably mirror what the Dallas Mavericks just went through after trading Luka Dončić. The Mavs seem to have come out of that disastrous situation in good shape after winning the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA draft lottery.

One difference is the Pirates already have a Cooper Flagg-level talent on their roster making very little money named Paul Skenes.

Even after Skenes dazzled in his debut season, winning NL Rookie of the Year and becoming the fifth rookie in MLB history to start the All-Star Game, it didn't spur Pirates owner Bob Nutting to change his ways.

The Pirates' $19.95 million in free-agent spending during the offseason was the ninth-lowest amount among all MLB teams. They have the eighth-lowest payroll in the sport this season.

Pittsburgh's results this season reflect the lack of investment from ownership. The team enters play on Saturday with an 18-34 record, ahead of only the Colorado Rockies in the NL standings.