Don Kelly’s comments reveal how Pirates are mishandling Paul Skenes

Paul Skenes pitched to a 1.91 ERA over 37 2/3 innings in May, and he didn't have a single win to show for it until Wednesday. The Pittsburgh Pirates' woefully inept offense had failed to provide him any run support until an out-of-character, 10-run performance helped earn Skenes a well-deserved win in Wednesday's victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks, further highlighting the organization's failure to build a competitive team around their generational star.

"[Pitchers like] Paul Skenes, they don't come around ever," Pirates manager Don Kelly said following Skenes' start on Wednesday. "I think there's a few pitchers like that. When I was younger, I got to play with [Justin] Verlander and [Max] Scherzer, and that's what you see in Paul, that type of guy. If he can continue that, continue to develop, continue to grow – he's a pitcher, not a thrower. Just the way he works, everything. He's definitely a guy you want to build around."

Indeed, Skenes is a guy the Pirates should build around. And everyone but Ben Cherington seems to realize it.

Don Kelly’s comments reveal how Pirates are mishandling Paul Skenes

To be clear, the Pirates are Cherington's mess, not Kelly's.

Kelly isn't the one who ignored the host of talented and affordable outfield options on the free agent market this summer and opted instead to sign the ghost of Tommy Pham. Kelly isn't the one keeping Jared Triolo on the active roster despite a .152 average over more than 100 plate appearances. Kelly isn't the one making hollow promises that offensive help is on the way, referring to 20-year-olds at High-A Greensboro.

It's all Cherington (with plenty of help from Bob Nutting – who, for some reason, would rather pour money into creating meaningless baseball operations and analytics roles instead of building a roster of halfway decent baseball players). The way Cherington has run this organization into the ground since he took over five years ago is shameful enough as it is, regardless of the fact that he's wasting valuable years of a generational talent like Skenes in the process.

Cherington should heed the advice of his manager – and literally everyone else in baseball – and make a legitimate effort to build a winning team around Skenes. That said, he's had multiple opportunities to do so, and he's botched nearly every one. If Skenes really is a guy to build around, then the Pirates need to be honest with themselves and hire someone competent to do the building.

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