Pirates GM Ben Cherington bluntly addresses Paul Skenes trade ideas

The Pirates are shooting down the idea of trading reigning National League Rookie of the Year and pitching phenom Paul Skenes. 

Pirates general manager Ben Cherington was stern in his response to reporters when the question arose ahead of Pittsburgh’s 8-5 loss to the Brewers on Thursday. 

“No, it’s not part of the conversation at all,” Cherington bluntly told reporters when he was asked about the idea. 

The idea of trading Skenes has popped recently with the Pirates in the middle of a 17-34 season as the ballclub sits in last place in the NL Central. 

Skenes, best known outside of the baseball world as the boyfriend of gymnastics star and social media influencer Olivia “Livvy” Dunne, has been a sensation on the hill since making his MLB debut last season and immediately became a star on the Pirates. 

He started in the All-Star Game for the National League in 2024 and took home Rookie of the Year honors, but he’s not received much help from his teammates this season amid another bad year for Pittsburgh baseball. 

Skenes is 3-5 with a 2.44 ERA, but the Pirates have gone 3-7 in his 10 starts this year. 

The LSU product threw his first career complete game on Sunday, striking out nine batters over eight innings, though the Pirates still lost 1-0 to the Phillies. 

The Pirates’ struggles and the lack of run support for Skenes — they scored a combined 10 runs over his last six starts — have led some prominent MLB media members to raise the idea of trading Skenes.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan brought up the thought during an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” last week, and MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand also recently posed the idea. 

But, for now, Cherington is not even close to entertaining the idea.