Dodgers among early favorites to land Pirates' Paul Skenes, MLB writer claims

The mere fact that we're discussing the Pittsburgh Pirates trading superstar pitcher Paul Skenes is a massive failure. But the Los Angeles Dodgers won't throw anyone a pity party.

The pitiful Pirates have a 15-33 record, ahead of only the Colorado Rockies for the worst mark in the National League. They've already fired manager Derek Shelton, and their next move may be to think about using interim manager Don Kelly as a designated hitter.

Skenes is sensational, but some believe the Pirates' best move could be to trade him with four-and-a-half years of control remaining on his rookie contract. If ownership isn't going to invest in building a veteran core around him, why keep him around just to lose?

Some will argue it's bad for the sport if Skenes leaves Pittsburgh before his rookie deal is up, let alone barely a year into it. However, the Dodgers will be in no position to complain if it lands them a new ace. 

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Jacob Mountz of FanSided named the Dodgers as one of the teams with the "inside track" to trade for Skenes, along with the Chicago Cubs and Detroit Tigers, thanks to their always-deep farm system.

"As a whole, the Dodgers’ pitching staff owns a 4.18 ERA. Should they trade for Skenes, the Dodgers would only cement their status as World Series favorites," Mountz wrote.

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"The Pirates will also inquire about higher-ranking prospects as well as major leaguers. This would include Hyeseong Kim and recently promoted No. 1 prospect Dalton Rushing. No. 2 and 3 prospects Josue De Paula and Zyhir Hope are also worth watching, though their debuts are not imminent."

Some players are worth trading the entire farm for, and Skenes is one of those players. He's still just 22, he's got 7.8 bWAR in 33 career starts, and he's struck out 232 batters in 195 2/3 career innings.

Again, nothing written here is meant to insinuate that the Pirates "should" trade Skenes, let alone that it would be good for baseball. But if they're going to do it anyway, the Dodgers might as well step up and win the sweepstakes.

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