Ben Cherington puts an end to the most pointless Paul Skenes speculation yet

As long as Paul Skenes is a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates, there will always be teams calling to inquire about acquiring his services. When a player of his caliber is making pennies on the dollar compared to what he is worth and playing for a team that is failing to build a competitive roster around him, it would be irresponsible of other teams not to inquire about him.

"The question gets asked, and it's always respectful," Pirates GM Ben Cherington said at the MLB general managers meetings (via Jorge Castillo of ESPN). "Teams have to ask the question. I suspect that won't end. But the answer's been consistent."

The answer, of course, is that Skenes isn't going anywhere – for now, anyway.

Cherington told FanSided's Robert Murray this week that the two-time All-Star starter and Cy Young finalist is "going to be a Pirate in 2026."

Ben Cherington's Paul Skenes "update" isn't really news for Pirates fans

Cherington saying the Pirates won’t trade Skenes isn’t some bold declaration; it’s stating the obvious. Skenes made his debut in 2024 and instantly became the face of the franchise, maybe even of the city. He’s the single biggest reason Pirates fans still believe this rebuild could actually work. You don’t trade that guy, not in his first full year, not when he’s under team control through the early 2030s, and certainly not when his jersey just became the top seller in Pittsburgh.

This “announcement” feels more like a way to calm a restless fan base than a meaningful update. The only people who ever seriously floated a Skenes trade were national pundits playing “what if” games – not anyone in the Pirates’ orbit. If anything, Cherington’s words just confirm that the organization isn’t completely tone-deaf. They know how disastrous even talking about trading Skenes would sound right now.

Now, could Skenes someday become a trade chip? Of course — if the Pirates waste his prime or refuse to pay him long-term, those conversations will certainly happen a few years down the road. But not today, not this winter, and not while he’s still the one thing this front office got unequivocally right.

So, yes, Cherington “quashed speculation" about a potential Skenes trade. But let’s be honest: there wasn’t any real fire to that smoke – just fans’ lingering distrust of ownership and the fear that even the likely Cy Young winner might not be safe in Pittsburgh.