Report: Yankees tried to acquire Skenes from Pirates last season

The New York Yankees tried to make a gigantic splash at last season's trade deadline by attempting to acquire Paul Skenes from the Pittsburgh Pirates, sources told the New York Post's Jon Heyman.

However, the Pirates quickly shut down the Yankees, even with New York prepared to offer four top prospects, Heyman adds.

Though the names of the prospects discussed are unknown, Heyman mentions Cam Schlittler, George Lombard Jr., Spencer Jones, and Carlos Lagrange as viable players that were in the Yankees' farm system at the time.

People within the Yankees organization remain hopeful about acquiring the reigning NL Cy Young winner in the future since his girlfriend, Livvy Dunne, lives in New York, Heyman reports.

Skenes is under contract with Pittsburgh until 2030. If he continues to succeed, he could earn a long-term deal with an average annual salary of $50 million. That figure would likely price out the Pirates, whose largest contract in club history came in 2023 when they signed outfielder Bryan Reynolds to an eight-year, $106.75-million extension.

Skenes had a rocky start to his 2026 campaign against the New York Mets on Thursday, but he's been one of the best pitchers in baseball since debuting in 2024. The 23-year-old owns a 2.10 ERA and 0.96 WHIP with 387 strikeouts in 321 1/3 career innings.