Paul Skenes teammate reportedly claims Pirates star has expressed desire to play for Yankees 'multiple times'

Paul Skenes might only be two seasons into his career but talk of him leaving the Pittsburgh Pirates is only growing louder. Rumors circulated during the MLB trade deadline, only to pick up once again at MLB GM Meetings. And as it turns out, there is a specific team Skenes wants to play for — the New York Yankees.

This comes from a current teammate of Skenes. He claimed to have heard the ace pitcher say as much “multiple times.”

“Trust me, he wants to play for the Yankees,” the anonymous teammate said via NJ.com. “I’ve heard him say it multiple times.”

Skenes was born out in Southern California, attending Angels games growing up. He stayed out West to begin his college career at Air Force before entering the NCAA transfer portal. Landing at LSU, that’s where his career began to blow up. Pitching became the sole focus and Skenes eventually turned into the No. 1 overall draft pick.

Nothing but success has come for Skenes since leaving Baton Rouge. His numbers through two years are quite historic, posting a career 1.96 ERA through 55 games and 320.2 innings pitched. Batters have struck out 386 times against Skenes, while only walking 74 times.

Pure brilliance, no matter which way you look at it. Except there is not a whole lot of winning going on in Pittsburgh. The Pirates are continually at the bottom of the National League Central, not finishing higher than 4th since 2016. Skenes has been a part of two last-place teams.

The same report from NJ.com indicates Skenes has “no faith” in the Pirates ever being able to win down the road. Hitting free agency after the 2029 season, most would assume Pittsburgh decides to trade him at some point. But if you ask general manager Ben Cherington, Skenes is going nowhere this offseason.

“The question gets asked and it’s always respectful,” Cherington said. “Teams have to ask the question, right? I suspect that won’t end, but the answer has been consistent. He’s going to be a Pirate in 2026.”

Recent history shows the Yankees are willing to pay big dollars for elite starting pitching. Gerrit Cole is in the tail-end of a nine-year, $324 million contract with the Yankees. There are still only four starting pitchers in baseball making more than Cole on an annual average. Two other players in the rotation were big free agency acquisitions as well. Max Fried will make $218 million over eight years, while Carlos Rodon is halfway through a six-year deal for $162 million.

Skenes will likely get paid an insane amount of money as a free agent, no matter the destination. There might just be a predetermined team in mind, four years ahead of time.