A pitcher that wears no. 30 is keeping Pittsburgh’s hopes alive. But for how long? When he took the mound against the Washington Nationals, we all witnessed yet another stellar performance. He threw 99 pitches in six innings, allowing only three hits and no walks, and surrendered only one earned run. Yes, you guessed it right; it’s Paul Skenes. See, the Pittsburgh Pirates have seen their fair share of underwhelming stints in the season, but they have started looking stronger and more dangerous now. But the pitcher, who has been the driving force behind it all, might not stick around for long.

Yes, it hurts, doesn’t it? Unfortunately, we’ve just been fed a bitter dose of reality by Jay Dunn, a top MLB analyst. According to Dunn, despite his phenomenal debut season – being the runaway winner in NL Rookie of the Year and coming in third in Young voting—Skenes’ upcoming future with the Pirates is uncertain.

Both the city of Pittsburgh and the Pirates seem to be the right fit for Skenes. In the major league, the Pirates payroll is the fourth lowest. If you see it by baseball standards, it’s significantly low. Interestingly, it’s not even half of the Baltimore Orioles’ payroll. And that’s not even the real shocker.

It’s the fact that by the beginning of 2027, Skenes would be eligible for salary arbitration.

By then, if Skenes has distinguished himself as one of the best pitchers in the league, he would be granted a commensurate salary. Ouch, that’s harsh for the pirates. According to Dunn, that exactly will be the time when the Pirates will trade him for any value they can extract. And stating the obvious, it won’t be what he’s actually worth.

All said and done, baseball’s financial disparity is pure chaos, and it might be the same for the upcoming future in sight. As a result, the Pittsburgh Pirates could end up losing Skenes.

Will the Pirates lose Skenes to the Dodgers or Yankees?

There’s no shadow of a doubt that Paul Skenes’ stretch with the Pittsburgh Pirates has been astounding. But if you think about it, how long will he continue to stay in Pittsburgh?

You see, he was born and brought up in Southern California. His girlfriend, Olivia Dunne, the renowned gymnast, is making waves in the Olympics, and it’s highly likely that she will rise as a global celebrity post-2028 Olympics. It made all the sense to MLB analyst Jay Dunn, and he predicted that sooner or later, Skenes could be pitching for the Dodgers.

It could also be the case that Skenes would prefer financial muscle over anything else and go for the New York Mets. And if the history and legacy attract Skenes, he could also be a Yankee. Dunn believes that both the Mets and the Yankees hold that prestige and attractive payrolls that could sway away Skenes.

By 2027, the Pirates will face a tough time as Skenes will approach salary arbitration. If they fail to offer him what he’s worth, he could be traded for way less than his actual value.

The thing is, money talks! It’s not if he will leave the Pirates; the question is when. The big-budget teams find a way, one way or another, to pitch the real talents. As per Dunn, you’d find Skenes pitching sooner or later, likely sooner, for either the Dodgers, Yankees, or Mets.