Paul Skenes article

[Ecbucs]

Jones will also get a full season for this year so the Bucs will be on the hook for some high pitcher salaries (which means they have done well).

For some reason I am optimistic today (takes 7 homers to make that happen) and Skenes should be front runner for rookie of year getting the Bucs an extra draft pick next year.

I agree with F to pay Skenes more than required next season. Just wanted to say that on another thread Bobster (I think) explained that the Bucs will not get a pick for Skenes winning rookie of year. I didn't realize players had to be with team from start of the season.

[PooperScooper !]

Pirates messed with Cole over a few thousand $$$ early on, and he was never the same. Granted he never wanted to be a Pirate to begin with.lol Pay Skenes !

[Bobster]

Pirates messed with Cole over a few thousand $$$ early on, and he was never the same. Granted he never wanted to be a Pirate to begin with.lol Pay Skenes !

Cole was limited by the pathetic "pitch to contact" instruction he received. Like Glasnow, Musgrove and Morton, he needed to get free of that to reach his potential.

[fjk090852-7]

The more I see and read about Paul Skenes the Pirates better tender him a contract this offseason in an amount greater than a player with one years of team control. He is a special player and due to that reason they can break precedent and pay him more than the MLB Collective Bargaining Agreement provides for a player completing his first year of service. It does not have to be a huge increase, but something more than the minimum to acknowledge that the Organization appreciates his commitment.

[bucs607179]

Agree with post above. If they don't do that I may hunt Mr. Nutting down.

Good luck tonight Paul and Brain!!

[Doc]

If Nutting doesn’t agree to pay Skenes market value, Skenes would be foolish to stay here. He owes nothing to the Pirates but his best efforts when wearing the uniform. Nutting hasn’t shown to date that he’s willing to participate in the market for high-priced players. There’s no reason to think he’ll do it when the time comes to pay Skenes.

[Bobster]

If Nutting doesn’t agree to pay Skenes market value, Skenes would be foolish to stay here. He owes nothing to the Pirates but his best efforts when wearing the uniform. Nutting hasn’t shown to date that he’s willing to participate in the market for high-priced players. There’s no reason to think he’ll do it when the time comes to pay Skenes.

It's not just a matter of paying market value. Skene's can get that and more from a lot of teams. He needs to want to stay a Pirate when he has the option to leave. If they're in year 10 of the 5-year rebuilding plan, there's no incentive to stay and every reason to leave. So the key to keeping Skenes is to pay him appropriately AND to make the Pirates a serious post season contender. Not a team that tries to get over .500 in hopes of squeaking into the last WC spot.

[Doc]

If Nutting doesn’t agree to pay Skenes market value, Skenes would be foolish to stay here. He owes nothing to the Pirates but his best efforts when wearing the uniform. Nutting hasn’t shown to date that he’s willing to participate in the market for high-priced players. There’s no reason to think he’ll do it when the time comes to pay Skenes.

It's not just a matter of paying market value. Skene's can get that and more from a lot of teams. He needs to want to stay a Pirate when he has the option to leave. If they're in year 10 of the 5-year rebuilding plan, there's no incentive to stay and every reason to leave. So the key to keeping Skenes is to pay him appropriately AND to make the Pirates a serious post season contender. Not a team that tries to get over .500 in hopes of squeaking into the last WC spot.

I agree, it takes two parties to come to terms. Perhaps Skenes comes to love being in Pittsburgh and is willing to give up money to stay here. It’s hard to see that happening, though, as his agent will press him hard to take the best offer, which will ultimately come from elsewhere.

But let’s say the Pirates match a Yankees or Dodgers offer of $45 million/year. We could expect that Nutting will jettison almost everyone from his roster earning over $3 million, leaving the team with little more than first and second year players. He’s demonstrated in the past that he’s going to keep his payroll as close to $100 million, or less, as he can. Skenes might then duplicate Steve Carleton’s 1972 season, but the Pirates would likely have the same record as the Phillies did that year, too. There would be little chance to compete.

Another consideration is his girlfriend, perhaps soon-to-be spouse. She’s headed for mega paydays herself, and where better to do that than New York or Los Angeles? He seems to be such a decent, considerate guy that he might want to make life easier for her by signing with either the Yankees or Dodgers when he reaches free agency. Then they both get the best either of those cities have to offer them in their careers.

I’ll be stunned if Skenes is here after his fourth year.

[Bobster]

Agreed. I see no realistic chance that Skenes remains a Pirate when he could choose to go elsewhere. But understanding that, Cherington has to maximize the team's potential during the years they have Skenes. Since they drifted mostly HS kids, the system is not going to be providing the hitting help they need in time. Cherington has to acquire hitters and Nutting has to pay them. I know that's an unlikely scenario but that's the only way they can become serious contenders during Skenes' tenure with the club. I hope I'm wrong but I don't see that happening. Nutting may be happy just to have Skenes as a drawing card and keep the team in the WC hunt each year.

[Doc]

Agreed. I see no realistic chance that Skenes remains a Pirate when he could choose to go elsewhere. But understanding that, Cherington has to maximize the team's potential during the years they have Skenes. Since they drifted mostly HS kids, the system is not going to be providing the hitting help they need in time. Cherington has to acquire hitters and Nutting has to pay them. I know that's an unlikely scenario but that's the only way they can become serious contenders during Skenes' tenure with the club. I hope I'm wrong but I don't see that happening. Nutting may be happy just to have Skenes as a drawing card and keep the team in the WC hunt each year.

The safest thing to do is keep the team contending for a Wildcard spot. Few can complain if the team is competitive in that way and, at the same time, it means he’s not spending excessively. Connie Mack figured that out a long time ago: build the club so that it could finish in the upper half of the standings to keep the fans interested, but not so good that he’d have to reward the players with decent raises. Mack wrote the book. Nutting keeps rereading it.