That thinking drove ESPN baseball insider Jeff Passan to explain a similar line of thinking, as he pointed out that Skenes is virtually guaranteed to leave the Pirates when he becomes eligible for free agency, given the state of the franchise. By trading him now, Passan argued, the team could recoup a lot of his future value before that happens.

Though he's barely a year removed from making his MLB debut, it's a sign of the times that Paul Skenes is already the subject of trade chatter.