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Bold mock trade package for Dodgers to land Paul Skenes still doesn't scratch the surface

A recent mock trade package sends Paul Skenes to the Los Angeles Dodgers, but it doesn't even come close to what the Pirates would actually accept.
BySam Phalen|
Paul Skenes - Pittsburgh Pirates v Los Angeles Dodgers
Paul Skenes - Pittsburgh Pirates v Los Angeles Dodgers | Harry How/GettyImages

There are few players in Major League Baseball more valuable that Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes.

The 22-year-old ace is 33 starts into his big league career with a 2.12 ERA, 10.7 K/9, and 14-8 record despite playing for the uninspiring Pirates.

Pittsburgh is nowhere close to contending, and seeing just how much they're missing in 2025 has sparked conversations about whether it would by wise to move on from Skenes. At this stage in his career, Skenes would bring back a haul of prospects unlike anything we have ever seen before.

Dodgers trade package for Paul Skenes

A frontline starting pitcher that will be a perennial Cy Young candidate and still has 4+ years of control hitting the trade market is unheard of.

Naturally, the Los Angeles Dodgers are one of the teams being talked about for a Paul Skenes trade. They are one of the trhe few organizations in baseball that have a hadnufl of elite prospects that tey dont need to save space for on the big league roster.

Bleacher Report's latest trade proposal has the Dodgers giving up OF Josue De Paula (No. 1 prospect), OF/C Dalton Rushing (No. 2 prospect), and SS Alex Freeland (No. 4 prospect) for Skenes. And even that is nowhere near enough, in my opinion.

What would it take to trade for Paul Skenes?

As I said earlier, a Paul Skenes return package would be unlike anything we've seen before. Never has a player that is so good, so young, and so controllable been dealt.

When the Nationals traded Juan Soto to the San Diego Padres, they got a franchise-altering haul of prospects in return. C.J. Abrams, James Wood, MacKenzie Gore, and Robert Hassell III were all in the eight-player trade.

But even then, Soto only had 2.5 years of control remaining before he would hit free agency. Skenes is still multiple seasons away from being eligible for arbitration.

If the Dodgers were going to pull off a trade for Skenes, it would like need to include Rushing, De Paula, Freeland, as well as Zyhir Hope and some big league talent. 24-year-old outfielder Andy Pages is a name that comes to mind.

That's the top four prospects in the organization, all of which are in the Top 50 in baseball, and a 24-year-old big league outfielder that plays Gold Glove defense and might hit 30 home runs this season.

It would completely gut the farm system and change the landscape of things in Pittsburgh...but that's the price for a generational talent with so many years of control.

As ridiculously packed as the projected trade package appears to be at first glance, I still don't think it scratches the surface of what the Pirates would consider accepting. They don't seem particularly motivated to move on from their young ace.