Old Pirates Paul Skenes trade rumor even more absurd as Yankees top prospect tumbles

The New York Yankees are looking silly right now for their valuation of outfield prospect Spencer Jones, whom New York reportedly made untouchable last summer in all trade talks that didn't involve Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes.

With the way the Yankees reportedly propped up Jones in trade negotiations, you'd assume Jones is a generational talent on the verge of perennial All-Stardom. But 2026 Spring Training has presented a different story entirely.

Outside of a notable homer, Jones has looked very uncomfortable at the plate this spring, to the extent that Yankees fans are concerned.

Yankees should be embarrassed for mentioning Spencer Jones and Paul Skenes in the same sentence

The Yankees tend to overhype their prospects, so the Jones situation isn't entirely surprising. They've tried to convince the baseball world outside of the Bronx that Jasson Dominguez is a superstar-in-the-making, although he hasn't had any sustained MLB production pointing to such a characterization.

You have to think that New York's delusional labeling of their prospects impacts the prospects, themselves, too, and not in a good way.

How else can we explain Jones recently publicly saying that he wants to emulate Shohei Ohtani, as if that's remotely possible?

Jones still hasn't made his major league debut, and there's not much room in the Yankees' 2026 outfield now that Cody Bellinger is back. Dominguez is still in the picture as a bench piece, too.

It wouldn't be shocking to discover that the Yankees have behind-closed-door designs to trade Jones before his stock falls further. This ridiculous Skenes rumor resurfacing won't help matters, as it's only a reminder that Jones has probably never been half the player New York wanted everyone to believe he is.

At this point, forget about Skenes; the Yankees might regret not trying to land a guy like Sandy Alcantara with a Jones package.

The New York Post's Jon Heyman reported last August that the Yanks were unwilling to trade Jones or fellow top prospect George Lombard Jr. for Alcantara.

Meanwhile, Skenes's Pirates have a different prospect situation going on. Their top dog, Konnor Griffin, delivers on the hype, at least early on. There's no need for Pittsburgh's front office to boost Griffin's reputation with outlandish player comps or leaked trade denials.

Pirates fans should take some time to laugh and enjoy this Skenes-Jones ordeal with the Yankees, even though it's almost a year old. After all, it'll be at least another year until New York can live this one down.