Pirates waste no time in killing Cubs fans' biggest dream

Speaking as a Chicago Cubs fan, the Pittsburgh Pirates often don't deserve the benefit of the doubt. My reputation of the Pirates is that of them having a strong farm system, a terrible owner, and that being the primary reason why they are never able to keep their homegrown talent who turn into stars.

After the firing of Derek Shelton as their manager, it seems that the Pirates are already admitting that the 2025 season will be another lost season. This is all happening while the Pirates have quite possibly the best starting pitcher in all of Major League Baseball in Paul Skenes.

Given the history of the Pirates being the Pirates, MLB insiders are already talking about the idea of Skenes being traded to a big-market team. Sure, the Cubs would have an interest, but even for the Pirates, it makes very little sense to entertain the idea of trading Skenes right now.

That would be the reason why a Pirates' source was quick to flame the rumor out while speaking with Jon Heyman.

"Paul Skenes is not getting traded. “No chance, no way, no how,” is the way I heard it. While there’s a bit of logic to such a scenario, superstars just aren’t traded by anyone with 1 year service time and the Pirates remain determined to build around Skenes.," Heyman reported on Wednesday.

Paul Skenes' trade is nice trade for Cubs fans to make in MLB The Show, but it's not a reality

The Cubs' best possible package would include Matt Shaw and Cade Horton in the deal, and even then, the case can be made that the Pirates should turn the offer down. When talking about a potential Skenes trade, note that it is a move that likely won't happen until 2028 or 2029. As a reminder, Skenes' is under team control until 2030. While we're on that timeline, yes, you can already check a box next to the Cubs as a team that would be interested in Skenes at that time.