The idea of the New York Yankees landing Paul Skenes sounds like something that will never happen, but people continue to talk about it. According to one scout who spoke with NJ.com, the price would be so high that the Yankees likely wouldn't want to pay it, and it might be more than they can even afford.
Skenes is widely viewed as one of the most dominant arms in baseball history, the kind of guy who can legitimately be the reason why the Yankees win a World Series. A player of his caliber never becomes available in the right circumstance, but it's fair to question whether the Pittsburgh Pirates are the smartest team.
“But to get the best pitcher in the game, you’re going to have to really pay up. They would have to start with Lagrange or Schlittler for sure and definitely include Lombard. Those would be your headliners in a deal. You might have to give up Will Warren and either Jones or Dominguez, too.”
Jasson Dominguez, Spencer Jomes, and Will Warren would likely have to go back to Pittsburgh, and it remains uncertain if the Pirates would even be interested in taking on those three players plus more for a starter of his caliber.
If he were to become available, unless he went to the Pirates front office and begged to be traded to the Yankees, it's fair to wonder how many teams around the league would have a better offer waiting for Pittsburgh.
“Is it worth it? The Yankees would have to think about what their goals are. Are they thinking they have a three-to-five-year window here to win multiple championships?”
“Aaron Judge is great, but let’s be honest: He’s a big, huge dude and you’re probably looking at three or four more really, really, really productive years, MVP-caliber years, before he starts to decline.”.
“This is all hypothetical because I don’t think there’s any way in hell Cherington is getting rid of Skenes now unless he’s told he has to by ownership because the Pirates think they can contend this year.”
I love the idea, and if the Yankees could land him, I'd probably give up everything, but I just don't think it's realistic.