The Pittsburgh Pirates have had one of busiest offseasons of the year, all in an effort to field a contender around their Cy Young, Paul Skenes. However, if they fail to compete this year, Skenes may do something drastic, like request a trade.
Fansided’s Christopher Kline proposes that if it comes to that, the Pirates should make a deal with the devil, and send Skenes to the Los Angeles Dodgers for a package headlined by Roki Sasaki.
“If the Pirates fail to take that next step, however, the chorus of speculation around Paul Skenes’ future will only grow louder. Skenes has made it clear that he wants to pitch for a winner. Pittsburgh has four more years of club control left, but the clock is already ticking. And if the team wants to upgrade its lineup without breaking the bank, trading Skenes would net them a potentially historic return package. The Dodgers are the team best positioned to pique Pittsburgh’s interest if push comes to shove. The idea of Skenes, also from SoCal, pitching for the Dodgers feels almost like prophecy. L.A. will be the favored landing spot whenever he hits the market. Right now, entering his age-24 season and with plenty of cheap control left, will be the highest Skenes’ value ever gets. Even if it’s in a midseason trade, the Dodgers wouldn’t think twice about trading Sasaki. And Pittsburgh should get plenty of bats in addition to Sasaki, making this a potentially transformative deal for both teams,” Kline wrote.
This past season, Sasaki posted a 1-1 record, a 4.46 ERA, 28 Ks, and a WHIP of 1.431 over 36 innings pitched, so he’s still a rookie. In the playoffs, he showed his ceiling when he came in as a reliever, where he posted an 0.84 ERA, six Ks, a WHIP of 1.031, and three saves in nine games.
He comes with multiple years of control and the ability to rapidly grow as the ace of the Pirates. He’d also be paired with Bubba Chandler, giving Pittsburgh a rising star duo for years to come.
This trade would hurt Pittsburgh immensely as they would lose their Cy Young, but if he’s not willing to extend his time with the Pirates, getting another rising star might be the smartest move they can make.
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