At the 2025 MLB trade deadline, the New York Yankees made a plethora of additions, including multiple pitchers to bolster the bullpen. But the Yankees were also trying to make an even bigger splash, though they came up short.
According to Jon Heyman of The New York Post, the Yankees were trying to make a trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates for starting pitcher Paul Skenes. The Pirates' ace wasn't dealt at the deadline, but if he was, the Yankees would've been one of the top landing spots.
Being interested in Skenes is one thing, but how far the Yankees would go to get him is another. What prospects and players were the Yankees willing to give up? Heyman's report indicates the Yankees were willing to trade some of their best prospects to land the superstar ace, who's the NL Cy Young favorite in 2025.
Who did the Yankees offer for Paul Skenes?
Heyman reports that the Yankees were willing to part with two top prospects in Spencer Jones and George Lombard Jr. However, with those talks not going anywhere, the Pirates' ace stayed in Pittsburgh, and there's a belief that Skenes will sign a long-term extension to stay in Pittsburgh.
With plenty of intriguing players available, or in trade talks at the 2025 MLB trade deadline, as Heyman reports, "That (a Paul Skenes trade) was the one case where the Yankees were willing to discuss Spencer Jones and George Lombard Jr."
Lombard is the top Yankees prospect, and the 20-year-old has a .751 OPS in 129 games this season between High-A and Double-A. Jones, meanwhile, has a .925 OPS at Double-A and Triple-A this season, and is the third-ranked Yankees prospect.
Lombard is a top-25 prospect in baseball, while Jones is ranked 87th by MLB Pipeline. Those two would not be enough to land a player of Skenes' caliber, however, as the trade made by the San Diego Padres paints a clear picture of how much the Yankees would need to give up for Skenes.
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Mason Miller was traded to the Padres for a prospect haul, which included Leo De Vries, a top-three prospect in baseball. Miller is a reliever who is young and electric. But, compared to Skenes, there is a big difference in value.
To land Skenes, the Yankees would need to give up a lot more than just Jones and Lombard, as those two might not have been enough to land Miller, and Skene's trade value is likely higher than Miller's.
But the fact that the Yankees attempted to begin trade talks is a good sign. If Skenes were to become available, the Yankees have already begun to lay the groundwork for a trade. While the package would be a lot more than just Lombard and Jones, to get a player like Skenes on the team, it'd be more than worth it to part with their top prospects.
A player like Skenes, who's likely on track to be the 2025 National League Cy Young, doesn't typically become available at such a young age. He's just 23 years old and is already one of the best pitchers in baseball.
Landing such a player would be amazing, but the package needed to acquire such a player would be huge. The two franchises have linked up on trades recently, including David Bednar at the trade deadline, so negotiations aren't out of the window. But Skenes isn't likely to be dealt, no matter what kind of package the Yankees offer the Pirates.
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