Paul Skenes hyping up SF Giants' managerial hire could have Pirates fans nervous

Some days, it just feels like the world is conspiring to get Paul Skenes out of Pittsburgh.

Which, to be fair, isn't the most outrageous idea. The ineptitude of the Pittsburgh Pirates' offense basically drowned out Skenes' historically dominant campaign, one that should earn him a Cy Young Award after recording a 1.97 ERA in 187 2/3 innings.

And though it doesn't sound like the franchise has any immediate intention of trading him, the whole baseball world is watching and lurking for the day that Bob Nutting admits he "can't afford" to keep the best pitcher in baseball in town.

Therefore, it doesn't exactly help matters when Skenes goes about complimenting the decisions of other teams, like he just did with the San Francisco Giants' hiring of Tony Vitello as manager.

Pirates' Paul Skenes, new Giants manager Tony Vitello have history from SEC rivalry

Skenes faced Tennesse twice during his time at LSU, and he saw firsthand how good Vitello was as a manager. The Volunteers finished fifth in the College World Series in 2023, the year Skenes and LSU won the championship.

Having already played for two managers in one of the least successful organizations in baseball in recent years, there's no doubt that Skenes is surely jealous of the up-and-coming Giants' decision to hire Vitello, one of the more respected coaches in college baseball. Don Kelly acquitted himself well after taking over for Derek Shelton in 2025, but there's no proof that he can turn this ship around in time to impress Skenes.

There's obviously nothing in Skenes' comments that suggests he's ready to demand a trade to play for Vitello right now, but his praise was more effusive than anything he's said about the Pirates recently.

To rub just a little more salt in the wound, Skenes is a native of Fullerton, California, which is about a seven-hour drive from San Francisco. He also grew up just outside of Los Angeles and rooted for the Los Angeles Angels as a kid. Both of those teams have a lot more money to spend than the Pirates, and you don't need me to tell you that the Los Angeles Dodgers just so happen to play in that same town.

This is probably nothing more than just doomer Pirates fans seeing the glass half-empty regarding the fate of their face of the franchise. Given the way things have gone in the last 10 years, though, can you really blame us?