Yankees mock trade proposal lands Pirates' Paul Skenes for 3-player package

The great debate over whether the Pittsburgh Pirates should trade ace Paul Skenes has begun, and enthusiastic New York Yankees fans are eagerly getting involved.

Skenes, the defending National League Rookie of the Year who turns 23 next week, is stuck playing for a train wreck. The Pirates have the third-worst record in Major League Baseball at 15-32, which many feel they deserve after failing to supplement Skenes with any viable veteran talent this offseason.

It would still take a monstrous haul of talent to acquire Skenes with four-and-a-half years left on his rookie deal. Do the Yankees, who could obviously use a starting pitcher and have plenty of cash with which to pay Skenes down the road, possess that sort of prospect capital?

Heavy's Sam Bernardi attempted to put together an offer from the Yankees that would hypothetically convince Pittsburgh to send them Skenes: right-handed pitcher Luis Gil, outfield prospect Spencer Jones, and right-handed pitching prospect Ben Hess.

"The Yankees’ acquiring Skenes would also reignite their “Evil Empire” billing in the most dramatic fashion possible. A trade, however unlikely it may seem, would require emptying the farm system for a generational pitcher like Skenes," Bernardi wrote.

The issue with this package is that there are far too many variables. Gil hasn't just been hurt this year, but he only threw seven games in the majors in the three years before his "rookie" season.

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Jones has tantalizing power but led Double-A in strikeouts with a whopping 200 last year. And Hess gets lots of strikeouts, but a good start at High-A doesn't fully mitigate the concern of a 5.80 ERA in college.

Bernardi finally admits at the end of the piece that more talent could be required, mentioning the one name among the Yankees' young players that might move the needle with Pittsburgh.

"Perhaps Pittsburgh would require even more prospects, such as No. 12 OF Everson Pereira or No. 8 LHP Brock Selvidge, or an MLB-ready player like OF Jasson Dominguez. It would be a heavy price to pay, but Skenes is worth it and more."

Put the 22-year-old Domínguez in the deal and maybe the Pirates will start thinking about it. But even then, the young Venezuelan outfielder, as loaded as he is with potential, has hardly proven to be in the same value tier as a perennial Cy Young Award contender.

More MLB: Blue Jays could cut ties with homegrown All-Star via trade to arch-rival Yankees