Paul Skenes Says Pirates 'Wasted Year' If Nothing Learned from 2025 Season Struggles

Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes says his club will have "wasted" the 2025 season if it doesn't learn from what went wrong during a second straight campaign spent at the bottom of the NL Central.

"This is a wasted year, if we don't learn what we need to do, we don't know why we didn't go out there and do what we wanted to do," Skenes told reporters Friday (h/t 93.7 The Fan). "If those don't happen, then it's a wasted year, in my opinion.

"I don't think that's happening. I think we, individually and as a team know, and as an organization know, the adjustments that we need to make. So, then we've just got to do them."

After members of the organization expressed hope last offseason of taking a step forward in 2025, the Pirates are on their way to a 10th straight season of finishing below .500.

Skenes meanwhile followed up his 2024 NL Rookie of the Year campaign by building a convincing case for the Cy Young in 2025.

He heads into Friday leading MLB with a 2.03 ERA after holding opponents to a .199 batting average through 181.2 innings pitched.

That hasn't been enough to make up for an offense that has recorded the fewest runs in MLB this season.

The Pirates have often been unable to capitalize on Skenes' dominant performances due a lack of run support, going just 16-15 in his 31 starts.

Skenes meanwhile heads into the weekend with a record of 10-10. Eight of those 10 losses were recorded in games during which the Pirates scored two or fewer runs, per Baseball Reference.

Should Skenes end the season with a losing record and then win the Cy Young, he would become the first pitcher since the Los Angeles Dodgers' Eric Gagne in 2003 to earn the award with a losing record.

If the Pirates are unable to take a step forward in 2026, the club risks wasting not just the 2025 season but the prime years of an elite pitcher.

Skenes is currently under team control for four more seasons, but the Bucs may need to start fielding a more competitive team in the near future to increase the chances he eventually signs an extension in Pittsburgh.