Pirates insider absolutely flames Paul Skenes-Yankees trade rumor for absurdity

There've been whispers for a while now. Could the Pittsburgh Pirates actually trade Paul Skenes (well before his final year of team control)? Could Skenes get tired of losing and try to force his way out of Pittsburgh? Until recently, these were all hypotheticals, the kind of stuff pundits bandy about when it comes time to fill a lull in the action.

It doesn't seem to matter, even after the umpteenth time that Ben Cherington says he hasno intention of trading Skenes, that the Pirates couldn't possibly move him now. Think about it. There's no way they'd get equal value.

With that said, we're drawn into this conversation once again, thanks to Randy Miller's report that Skenes not only wants to be traded, but wants to be traded to the New York Yankees. Thankfully, a voice of reason has spoken up.

Pirates insider throws a huge bucket of cold water on the Paul Skenes-Yankees trade rumors

Pirates insider Jason Mackey took to Twitter/X to dispel the ridiculous rumor on Wednesday night. According to Mackey's insight, he's spoken to Skenes, his girlfriend, and his family repeatedly about how much the superstar loves Pittsburgh, adding that the rumor, "doesn’t track with the type of leader Skenes has been from day one."

That's pretty emphatic, and anonymous teammate or not, it's much more believable coming from a guy with a direct line to Skenes versus a Yankees beat reporter.

This doesn't mean that Miller wasn't told what he claims. After all, the culture around the Pirates isn't great. That's all the more reason to doubt what Miller is reporting. It's entirely possible that a disgruntled player is drumming this up in hopes of inspiring a shakeup, either to snap Bob Nutting out of his penny-pinching ways or to find an escape route for himself.

After all, Ben Cherington and company know a lot more about what goes on behind closed doors than any of us do, and he might know exactly who this anonymous player is.

More importantly, even if it were true, there's not much Skenes can do if the Pirates aren't willing to trade him. This isn't the NFL or the NBA, where he can truly make the club's life miserable until they're forced to part ways. Skenes has a year to go before he even hits arbitration, so basically, the Pirates are in the driver's seat.

At the end of the day, the only real way to clear it up is to hear directly from the horse's mouth. Mackey's access makes his statements clearly the next best thing. So take a chill pill. Skenes to the Yankees definitely isn't happening.