Paul Skenes added to his individual accolades with the National League Cy Young Award but had to use the moment to also sidestep concern that he is looking to leave the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Skenes remains under team control for the rest of the decade but found himself pushing back against a report that he has told teammates he is eager to move on via trade — with a particular focus on joining the New York Yankees.
«I don’t know where that came from,» Skenes told reporters Wednesday night. «The goal is to win, and the goal is to win in Pittsburgh.»
Milwaukee Brewers. Skenes, the first pitcher since Dwight Gooden with the New York Mets in the mid-1980s to win Rookie of the Year one season and a Cy Young Award the next, remains optimistic Pittsburgh is closer to contending than most think and that his goal is for multiple World Series titles with the Pirates.
Skenes, selected first overall by the Pirates in the 2023 amateur draft, did his part in 2025, leading the majors in ERA (1.97) while striking out 216 batters in 187⅓ innings during his first full season in the big leagues.
Yet even with his brilliance, Skenes needed a little late help from Pittsburgh’s woeful offense to avoid becoming the first Cy Young-winning starting pitcher to finish with a losing record. Skenes won three of his final four decisions to finish 10-10. That so-so record didn’t stop the towering 6-foot-6 right-hander from being a unanimous Cy Young pick.
Although he was disappointed to be out of contention, Skenes said playing out the string was «a blessing» individually in some ways.
«It allowed me to try some new things in August and September that I wouldn’t have gotten to try if we were playing for the playoffs,» he said.
Information from ESPN’s Jorge Castillo and The Associated Press was used in this report.
