Speculation has run rampant over the past few weeks regarding Paul Skenes’ future with the Pittsburgh Pirates. 

From the Pirates' perspective, there's no reason to move on from Skenes. At most, they might find a player who is half as talented as Skenes in the future. 

He's arguably the best pitcher in Major League Baseball and isn't arbitration eligible until 2027, hitting free agency in 2030. 

Even if the Pirates want to move on from him at some point and understand they won't be able to give him the contract he's looking for, there's plenty of time to consider this. 

Despite that reality, a recent trade proposal from Jim Bowden of The Athletic would send the Pirates' ace to the New York Mets. The package would return Carson Benge, Ryan Clifford, Jett Williams, and Brandon Sproat, a competitive package compared to what other teams around the league could offer. 

“The Mets could offer arguably their four best prospects for Skenes. Sproat could effectively replace Skenes in the Pirates’ rotation immediately, while Benge, Clifford and Williams would give them a trio of bats who would improve their lineup in the long term. This is the weakest package of the five, but among this group of potential trade partners, the Mets are the team that needs Skenes the most. He’d pair with Kodai Senga to lead a rotation that surprisingly tops the majors in ERA (2.85) this season,” he wrote.

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While this package is enticing, again, there's no reason for the Pirates to even entertain trading Skenes. 

In fact, this should be the perfect time for the organization to stop being frugal and try to extend him now or add other players to fill the roster. 

The Pirates are lucky to have a player of his caliber, and they need to understand that.