Paul Skenes takes bold stand as MLB labor tensions keep growing

Major League Baseball's labor negotiations remain in their nascent stages, but with the expiration of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement hurtling toward us on Dec. 1, it's clear that the league and the player's association remain too far apart in their recent offers to expect an agreement prior to a work stoppage.

We know the owners are pushing hard for a salary cap, even willing to include a salary floor as part of their offer to offset concerns about spending. But we also know the MLBPA has no interest in limiting the earning potential of its members, nor is it willing to accept a cap on the share of revenue the players receive as a collective.

Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes is one of the most important figures in this battle from the player's side, both as an MLBPA executive subcommittee member and as the best young player in the game today without a long-term extension in hand. What he has to say will hold great importance for the rest of the league.

And, in no uncertain terms, Skenes is making his message clear to his fellow players: Hold the line.

Paul Skenes claims MLB players are "very united" in search of best possible CBA deal

In an interview with Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Skenes said that the players "are very united. I don’t think people understand how united we are and how on the same page we are... If we give in to certain things, it would be a disservice to the players who came before us.”

The 24-year-old said that the players are willing to miss games in 2027 in order to get the deal they want, acknowledging that the owners' most recent offer was "very, very bad." There is, of course, precedent for missing time, as Skenes pointed out the nonexistent 1994 World Series and how the players of previous generations fought as hard as they could to benefit future athletes.

Skenes is currently earning a $1.085 million base salary in 2026, the largest pre-arbitration salary ever awarded to an MLB player who has not signed a long-term contract extension. The reigning NL Cy Young winner owns a 2.85 ERA (2.69 FIP) through his first 15 starts this season, recording a 30.4% strikeout rate while issuing free passes at a career-low frequency. The Pirates have lost each of his last six starts, though that's mostly due to an imploding bullpen.

Still, these negotiations loom over all of baseball right now, especially for a player with Skenes' stature. Given how contentious the salary cap issue is, don't expect there to be any resolution for quite some time. Which team is best at blocking out the noise from this process may be the last one standing this season.

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