Yankees Proposed Huge Trade Package for Paul Skenes

Paul Skenes had about as rough an Opening Day as a reigning Cy Young winner can have, failing to get out of the first inning against the New York Mets, surrendering five earned runs in two-thirds of an inning on Thursday. 

By the end of the night, the trade rumors had already started. 

Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported that the New York Yankees pursued Skenes at last season's trade deadline and were prepared to offer four top prospects in exchange, a package the Pittsburgh Pirates declined so quickly they never even formally heard it out. 

"The Pirates were so against trading Skenes they wouldn't even listen to the Yankees' offer," Heyman wrote, adding that New York will almost certainly try again down the road.

The Yankees' Paul Skenes Trade Package: What They Were Willing to Give Up

The exact names in the package were never confirmed, but Heyman offered his best reconstruction of what the offer looked like. 

Some combination of Cam Schlittler, George Lombard Jr., Spencer Jones, and Carlos Lagrange, four legitimate prospects, with Schlittler now establishing himself as a viable big-league starter and Lagrange and Lombard drawing attention during spring training. 

According to Jon Heyman, the #Yankees are hopeful in their efforts to acquire Paul Skenes at some point. They are encouraged that Skenes would also have interest in them.

Heyman went on to add that New York was prepared to offer Pittsburgh four top prospects at last years trade… pic.twitter.com/oWDzcFVGvM

— Everything Yankees (@eyyankees) March 27, 2026

That's a good haul for virtually any team in baseball. 

The Pirates still said no, and it's hard to blame them. Skenes is 23 years old with a 2.10 ERA, a 0.96 WHIP, and 387 strikeouts in 321.1 career innings. 

He won the NL Cy Young in just his second season. The math on trading him, even for four legitimate prospects, is nearly impossible to justify when he's still under contract control through 2029.

Paul Skenes to the Yankees: Why the Rumors Won't Stop

The uncomfortable reality for Pittsburgh is that while they have no intention of trading Skenes now, they also have virtually no realistic path to keeping him long-term. 

Heyman estimates Skenes will command somewhere in the neighborhood of $50 million per year when he hits free agency, a figure that would dwarf the Pirates' largest contract in franchise history by a wide margin. 

The Yankees, meanwhile, are one of the very few organizations in baseball that could absorb that number without blinking. 

The Yankees tried to acquire Paul Skenes at the trade deadline last season, but the Pirates didn't even listen to their offer, per @JonHeyman.

The Yankees were prepared to offer four top prospects. pic.twitter.com/D4oxs2I3Ax

— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) March 27, 2026

Heyman also noted that some people within the Yankees organization have taken quiet encouragement from the fact that Skenes' girlfriend, social media personality Livvy Dunne, is based in New York. 

It's a soft signal at best, and Skenes himself has shot down suggestions that he's expressed interest in playing in the Bronx. 

But in a sport where free agency rumors follow star players for years before anything materializes, this one has all the ingredients to keep burning.

Photo Credit: Kevin R. Wexler-NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images