If Pirates won’t use Paul Skenes to recruit, they’re not serious about winning

At some point, the Pittsburgh Pirates need to stop pretending they’re playing the same sport as the rest of Major League Baseball. Because if you’ve got Paul Skenes — the literal face of the future, the ace every franchise dreams of developing, the guy every player in the league respects — and you still won’t use him to recruit free agents? Then you’re not serious about winning.

"The Pirates have yet to ask Skenes to help with their recruitment of free agents, but that day might be coming soon," Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich wrote last week in The Athletic. "Club officials believe Skenes not only would be willing to make calls on the team’s behalf, but also would make a compelling case for what the team is trying to accomplish."

MLB isn’t subtle anymore. Teams that want to win use their stars to bring in more stars. They lean on their aces, their MVPs, their clubhouse pillars. They don’t hide them. They don’t shield them. They hand them a phone and say, "Go get us someone."

And then there's the Pirates, who –– shocker –– haven't even asked.

Pirates need to let Paul Skenes be a recruiting weapon, or admit they're not serious about winning

Skenes is the exact kind of player other players want to join. He's elite, he's magnetic, he's respected, he's fun, and he's only going to keep getting better. If the Pirates can't be bothered to leverage that, then what are we even doing here?

What’s the point of developing an ace if you’re not going to build around him? What’s the point of his Cy Young-level talent if it’s just going to age away in irrelevance? What’s the point of the “new era” hype if it’s all just window dressing? Skenes isn't just a pitcher. He's a recruiting weapon, and not using him is a self-inflicted disadvantage. It's willingly showing up to a race without shoes.

The Pirates have had Skenes for two years, and they have wasted both of those years. No meaningful help, aggressive roster building, urgency or commitment to maximizing his prime. If they believe in him enough to brag about him at every turn, they should believe in him enough to let him recruit help. The Pirates love to talk about the “window," but a window doesn’t mean anything if you never open it.

If the Pirates won’t ask Skenes to recruit, it’s not because they’re “waiting for the right moment.” It’s because they don’t want the moment. They don’t want to spend. They don’t want to act like a team aiming for October. They want the illusion of progress, not the responsibility of it.

Skenes wants to win. Pirates fans want to win. The entire sport wants to see what Pittsburgh could be if they leaned in. If the Pirates refuse to let Skenes help bring talent to Pittsburgh, then they’re choosing comfort over competitiveness –– and a team that does that isn't actually trying to win.

So pick up the phone. Hand it to Skenes. And let him help build the team that he deserves.