Latest Paul Skenes news hints his future contract may have just ballooned

The meteoric rise of Paul Skenes has continued into the MLB offseason, with the 2024 National League Rookie of the Year being elected to a leadership role within the MLB Players' Association.

The 22-year-old right-hander is now a member of the MLBPA's eight-man executive subcommittee, as elected by his peers at the Association's annual meetings this week in Scottsdale, Ariz. Skenes' term is for two years, and his fellow newcomers to the group include Chris Bassitt (Toronto Blue Jays), Jake Cronenworth (San Diego Padres), Pete Fairbanks (Tampa Bay Rays), Cedric Mullins (Baltimore Orioles) and Tarik Skubal (Detroit Tigers).

Skenes joins the subcommittee on the heels of one of the greatest rookie seasons in MLB history, which saw him finish at 11-3 with a 1.96 ERA in 23 starts and set a Pittsburgh Pirates franchise record for strikeouts by a rookie with 170 over his 133 innings pitched. In addition to being named the NL Rookie of the Year, he was also a finalist for the NL Cy Young Award.

Paul Skenes' MLBPA leadership role may cause his future contract value to rise exponentially

Skenes' rapid ascent to stardom during his electric rookie season made him one of the faces of MLB. His election to the executive subcommittee is well deserved, but it could spell bad news for the Pirates (or whichever team signs him to his next contract).

According to Evan Drellich of The Athletic (subscription required), the subcommittee "works closely with senior union staff and also carries some weight in major player decisions." Such "major decisions" include, for example, voting to accept a new collective bargaining agreement. Skenes and his seven fellow subcommittee members each get an individual vote, in addition to the 30 player reps (one from each team).

In his new role, Skenes will be responsible for voting in the best interests of all of his fellow union members. As such, he will likely be looking to lead by example and set precedents. In other words, the possibility of him agreeing to a team-friendly contract extension with the Pirates anytime soon likely just went out the window.

Skenes is expected to make a very affordable $800,000 in 2025, and he doesn't become arbitration eligible until after the 2027 season. Ideally, the Pirates would want to get a generational talent like his locked down long term before he has a chance to hit free agency. But even if he wanted to give Pittsburgh a hometown discount on a long term deal, it wouldn't exactly set a favorable precedent for his fellow union members as they fight for contracts of their own.

If Skenes' debut season was any indication, talent of his caliber is likely going to demand record-setting money on the open market; and we know the Pirates won't spend it.

So, Pittsburgh, enjoy Skenes while you can. In a few years, he'll likely be signing a megadeal with an MLB heavyweight like the Los Angeles Dodgers or the New York Yankees.

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