Assuming the Pirates realize they will never be able to sign Skenes to a long term contract, this offer has some serious merit. There may well be 3 MLB players in this list of prospects from the Cubs and that seems to be the only way the Pirates can get some hitting in time to maximize their other starters. Now, would the fan base stand for that? Uhhhh, it certainly wouldn't help the gate in Pitt.

💁🏼‍♀️ For me, from the Pirates fan point I just don’t see that headliner that gets me to the table for Skenes.

Ballesteros and Shaw aren’t moving. Big pass for the Cubs.

If you ask me Pirates may as well try and see what they can do between now and next year's deadline before trading Skenes. In 2026 he will only make the league minimum, the Pirates may as well see what pieces they can offer and get back to improve their team this deadline then the 2025-26 offseason. Based off how their fans are reacting they need to sign some sort of big time free agent maybe they can piece together enough to contend for a playoff spot and justify keeping Skenes. Look at the Athletics this year, they were really bad last year, don't really have a home field and are at least competitive going into Memorial Day weekend. I just don't think it's quite time to trade Skenes, especially to the Cubs who might be able to sign him long term. You don't want to willingly trade a division rival an ace for the next decade. Better to trade him to the Yankees, Boston, Toronto, or even the Dodgers at least not in the same division.