On Thursday, Bleacher Report’s Zachary Rymer proposed a trade idea that would send Skenes to the Cubs to revamp their rotation. Rymer listed the Pirates’ return as third baseman Matt Shaw, right-handed pitcher Cade Horton, and outfielder Owen Caissie. All three are top-five prospects in the Cubs’ organization.

The Pittsburgh Pirates are headed toward being sellers at the trade deadline. Could they ever consider trading Paul Skenes well before he hits free agency?

Trade Paul Skenes? The Pittsburgh Pirates should build around Paul Skenes. But they punted on an opportunity to do that last offseason, and the chances of owner Bob Nutting splurging this offseason are about as good as his team’s current playoff odds: 0.