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By Noah Camras
Contributing Sports Writer
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Pittsburgh Pirates right-handed pitcher Paul Skenes is just 22 years old, but he's already one of, if not the best pitcher in baseball.
Skenes, who won the 2024 National League Rookie of the Year award, has made 33 career starts at the MLB level, sporting a 2.12 ERA with 232 strikeouts over 195.2 innings.
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This year, he has a 2.44 ERA over 62.2 innings, his most recent outing being a complete game in which he threw eight innings of one-run ball with nine strikeouts in a 1-0 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies.
The Pirates' ownership hasn't shown a willingness to spend, leading many to wonder if the team would look to move Skenes at some point,t considering the astronomical contract he'll sign one day.
Skenes isn't set to hit free agency until 2030, which would make him arguably the most sought-after trade target in MLB history.
While it's very unlikely the Pirates trade Skenes — especially this early into his career — MLB.com's Mark Feinsand asked some anonymous executives what a potential trade would cost.
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The answer? More than any player in MLB history.
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"Their return would likely be as significant a trade return as we've ever seen," an NL executive said. "If they looked to trade him now, I think something like 1.5 times the (Juan) Soto deal would be a starting point."
"... If they chose to go that route, they could ask for the moon from a contending team and would probably get it," another NL executive said. "It would have to be a franchise-altering deal."
For reference, when the Washington Nationals traded Juan Soto (and Josh Bell) to the Padres, they got San Diego's Nos. 1, 3, 4 and 14 prospects, as well as the player that opened the season as the team's No. 1 prospect in C.J. Abrams. That's essentially four top-five prospects and another top-15 prospect for Soto, who had two and a half years of team control.
Skenes is still pre-arbitration, meaning he has four and a half more years of team control. Parting with him would essentially require a team to unload their entire farm system, while also potentially parting with some MLB-ready talent.
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