“He’s a chandelier in a haunted house.” – That’s the kind of portrait being painted of Paul Skenes in the Pittsburgh Pirates. Paul Skenes has established himself as one of the most elite pitchers in this league—yes, no surprise there. Let’s note something before we dive into Paul Skenes’ latest trade scenario. If you’ve been keeping tabs, you’d already know that it was confirmed by the Players’ Union that the Pirates are among the most profitable teams in the league. Sure, the speculations around it were always there. But now that it’s officially confirmed, the center of the blame is the owner, Bob Nutting.

One contributing factor to why Paul Skenes was called a ‘chandelier’ in the Pirates, aka ‘the haunted house’, is that despite earning a huge chunk of revenue, they never invest in their own players. It’s baffling to the entire Pirates’ nation and analysts alike. When it comes to Skenes’ latest trade scenario, Pirates’ insiders on Foul Territory summed it up pretty well. They laid out the most arguable hot topic: “Paul Skenes’s current value,” and that’s where things got a whole lot more interesting.

You see, it isn’t easy to define his value. Putting things in perspective, he said, “His talent plus what you’re paying him, I don’t know if there’s a value that can be defined. He’s kind of like the Mona Lisa right now. You have to allow him to get closer to arbitration until he’s making something similar to a player of his caliber.” The thing is, with four years of control over what he can provide on the mound, any MLB team, especially the one with contention, isn’t in the place nor willing to offer their assets.

As per the insider, if the Pirates trade Skenes, they cannot trade him for straight-up prospects. He added, “You (the Pirates) need to get proven big league talent in addition to prospects.” Fair enough. When he was called the chandelier, it was because “You know the value of the chandelier and other teams if you want to make an impact on this organization that will last for the next six years.” Further, he even predicted that Skenes might win 15 games a season for a 65 to 70-win team.

Moreover, after his every outing, the questions around his low pay are naturally raised; a pitcher of his caliber deserves a better, big-budget team under healthy ownership, unlike Bob Nutting’s.

Now, it’s all up to Nutting; even if he fails to invest in his star players like Skenes, many teams in this league would be happy to sign him. Until Skenes hits free agency, he will be thriving for his team no matter what.

Skenes to deliver big once again for Pirates against the Mets

The Pirates’ nation is frustrated for a reason. While Nutting is okay with “mediocrity,” Skenes always manages to help the Pirates (14-27) stay in the lead. The right-hander is now gearing up to make his first extended appearance at the Mecca of baseball—New York. The Pirates will be going against the Mets (26-15) for an intense three-game series at Citi Field.

As Skenes opens the series, he will be opposing the Mets’ left-hander David Peterson. The Pirates are coming off strong after their 4-3 walk-off win against the Atlanta Braves. The Mets aren’t behind either; they’re fresh off a 6-2 win over the Chicago Cubs.

Against the Cubs, 2 out of 3 games were in the Mets’ favor. The Mets are doing great both on offense and on defense. Meanwhile, the Pirates seem to be in a better position too, after Don Kelly’s debut. On Friday, they dominated the Braves, securing a 3-2 win. Skenes, who sits with a 3-4 record and a 2.77 ERA, has always exceeded the expectations.

Both teams are coming off strong, and this showdown at the Big Apple is hard to miss. Excited?