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Sep 16, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes (30) delivers a pitch against the Chicago Cubs during the first inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
Paul Skenes likely couldn't have imagined a much worse start to the season.
Maybe most frustrating for the Pittsburgh Pirates ace is that the New York Mets didn't hit the ball particularly well, yet they had five runs to show for it as Skenes recorded just two outs before being pulled.
It was a logical decision by the Pirates, of course, to not let Skenes go beyond 37 pitches in one inning, territory which starts to get quite dangerous as far as stressing out the arm and risking injury.
It still was a bummer for a Pittsburgh team with high expectations. Nothing went their way in that first inning for Skenes, which included multiple defensive blunders along with an infield hit that traveled about 45 feet.
And then as if that wasn't enough, Skenes trade rumors popped up by the end of the night.
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It was the New York Post's Jon Heyman digging into past speculation about Yankees trades, writing that the Yanks had pursued Skenes at last season's trade deadline.
Heyman adds that the Pirates were so disinterested that they "wouldn't even listen" to the offer from New York.
Heyman then writes, "Believing there may be reason to think Skenes wants to be in NY (true or not), (Yankees) will likely try again again down the road."
If there really is a Skenes flirtation with the Bronx, it'll create non-stop headlines for the next few seasons. Heyman has really started that flame right now.
But there almost certainly is no such thought on Skenes' mind right this moment. He's going to simply want to find a way to flush that bad outing and get back in a groove as soon as possible.
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