Paul Skenes' blunt comment about 2025 season should send message to Pirates

No one’s doubting Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes’s generational talent through his first two MLB seasons. After becoming the second Pirates player to win National League Rookie of the Year after an exemplary 2024 season (a campaign in which he also finished third in NL Cy Young voting), Skenes made his second consecutive All-Star team in 2025. He held a 2.03 ERA and an 0.96 WHIP on the season entering Wednesday, with 209 strikeouts in 191 2/3 innings.

Skenes has the physical and mental tools to be the best starting pitcher in baseball — that has been clear since very shortly after he stepped onto a big league mound last year. But at just 23 years old, Skenes has also rapidly emerged as a leader in Pittsburgh’s clubhouse, something that not enough people talk about. With his own voice, Skenes always tends to say the right thing in an attempt to give the Pirates franchise what it so desperately needs: a winning mindset.

Pirates’ Paul Skenes gets real about the 2025 season with a new remark

A lesser player than Skenes would be satisfied with his individual greatness and not concern himself too much with Pittsburgh’s team failures. Not Skenes. Not only does the losing bother Skenes, but he has a knack for summing up how Pittsburgh should respond to that losing with blunt, simple commentary.

A recent example came in the form of Skenes reflecting on the current season, stating, “This is a wasted year if we don’t learn what we need to do.”

Skenes’s remark can be interpreted in a couple of ways. The most likely intended audience for the ace’s comment was the current Pirates team itself — a group of players that entered Wednesday tied for the fourth-worst record in baseball. Skenes is well aware of the competitive landscape in the NL Central, and he realizes that if the Pirates’ current players don’t make a concerted mindset shift in 2026, things will remain the same.

Speaking of players, Pittsburgh’s roster simply isn’t good enough. That's why you can also interpret Skenes's comment as a subtle challenge to the Pirates’ front office, which will have plenty of offseason decisions to think about in the coming weeks, not least of all regarding an overdue extension for Skenes.

Meanwhile, Skenes and the rest of the Pirates will once again be watching the postseason from their couches, a tradition for Pittsburgh that’s been upheld every year since 2015, when Skenes was 13 years old.

With consecutive 76-win seasons in 2023 and 2024, it seemed like Pittsburgh was trending up after stacking 100 and 101 losses in each of the two seasons prior. However, Pittsburgh took a step back this year, as they’ll fail to hit 76 wins (and will be lucky to hit 70).

Perhaps an even more stark reality — the Pirates haven’t advanced to an NLCS since 1992.

To end these depressing droughts and turn the franchise around, Pittsburgh’s front office needs to start making some revolutionary changes. They have a stud in Skenes to build around, so that’s an excellent start.