Paul Skenes sends bold message on raising the bar for Pirates’ future

Paul Skenes will enter his second season with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2025. The Pirates have not made the playoffs since the 2015 season, and Skenes is tasked with trying to change that.

Skenes will be the Opening Day starter for the Pirates in 2025, and he spoke to Alex Stumpf of MLB.com to discuss the upcoming season. The All-Star spoke about wanting to deliver more playoff games for the fans of the Pirates.

"I think we owe something to the city. We owe a lot to the city. It's our job to go out and win for the city because this is bigger than all of us. There's a reason why 'Cutch (Andrew McCutchen) keeps coming back, and specifically to Pittsburgh," Skenes said

Andrew McCutchen was on the Pirates the last time they were in the postseason. Paul Skenes discusses the last time the Pirates played a playoff game.

"There's something about this city," Skenes added. "We saw it last summer. We've seen it in videos of the Wild Card game. I'm tired of watching them because it was a Wild Card series. The bar needs to be set pretty high. Not taking anything from those guys. The fact that that's a Golden Era in recent Pirates baseball, that needs to chance. We owe it to the city."

Skenes won the National League Rookie of the Year Award.

Paul Skenes accepts praise from teammate Jared Jones

Paul Skenes and Jared Jones are the two young pitching stars for the Pirates, and the two have developed a good relationship. Earlier this spring, Jones gave Skenes some praise about his leadership skills, but the reigning Rookie of the Year was reluctant to accept that report.

"Uh, yeah, coming from Jared, I need you to send me the transcript of that, and I'll print it out and put it in his locker," Skenes said.

"It means a lot coming from Jared," Skenes added. "I mean, you can't underestimate the type of leader that he is either. Same with Bailey, Mitch, Heaney—all those guys within the staff are leaders in their own right. And it's cool because guys are listening, whether it’s from me or from literally anyone. We all can hold each other accountable, and I think that's a little different than last year."

If the Pittsburgh Pirates are going to get back to the postseason then they'll need the best from both of their aces.