The Pirates announced Tuesday that they’ve officially signed right-hander Paul Skenes, whom they selected with the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft. The now-former Louisiana State University ace will receive a $9.2MM signing bonus, Jim Callis of MLB.com reports. It’s the largest draft bonus ever issued under the current slotting system in Major League Baseball. Full slot value for the top overall selection was $9,721,000.
Skenes, 21, spent this year dominating for LSU. He made 19 starts for the Tigers with a 1.69 ERA in 122 2/3 innings. He struck out 209 of the 462 batters he faced, an incredible 45.2% rate, while walking just 20 for a 4.3% rate in that department.
Coming into the draft, he was a consensus top three pick by all of the major outlets alongside his LSU teammate Dylan Crews. ESPN, FanGraphs and Keith Law of The Athletic gave Skenes the #3 slot, Baseball America had him at #2, while MLB.com had him in the very top spot. MLB Pipeline puts an 80-grade on his fastball, the top mark possible on the 20-80 scale, noting that he averaged 98 mph this year while getting as high as 102. They also heap praise on his slider and compliment his changeup as well. He is described as a “classic” starter in that he is 6’6″ and 235 pounds, with the profile at MLB.com describing him as the best pitching prospect since Stephen Strasburg in 2009.
Even the profiles that didn’t have Skenes in the #1 slot admitted that there was a case to have done so, though the greater injury risk for pitchers played a factor in bumping him to #2 or #3. All observers consider him to be a potential future ace some think he is talented enough to pitch in the big leagues today. That’s not to say the Pirates will consider such a path, since pitchers are often shut down in their draft year and Skenes already logged a significant workload this year.
How the Bucs will proceed with Skenes will be a fascinating development to watch this winter and into next year, given that some evaluators think he’s ready for the big leagues. The Pirates showed some signs of life earlier this year and had some hope of emerging from their rebuilding phase, but they’ve faded in the past couple of months and seem likely to be out of contention this year. But if they think they are ready to make a leap in 2024, they will have to come up with a plan for where Skenes fits in there.
The club has been aggressively promoting its prospects this year, with Henry Davis, Endy Rodríguez, Jared Triolo, Nick Gonzales and Liover Peguero all called up in recent weeks, but there’s plenty of room in the rotation. Mitch Keller will undoubtedly be in the mix as he’s in his second straight solid season. Johan Oviedo is posting passable results behind him. 43-year-old Rich Hill could be traded this summer but is an impending free agent even if he doesn’t get moved. Other options like Osvaldo Bido, Luis Ortiz and Roansy Contreras have shown some encouraging signs at times but are still question marks right now, as in Quinn Priester, who was just promoted to make his debut in recent days. Mike Burrows was considered one of the club’s better pitching prospects coming into the year but required Tommy John surgery in April.
Baseball America has already updated its top 100 prospects lists after the draft and has Skenes #5 across the entire league. Skenes was the first #1 pick in MLB’s new lottery era, which was just implemented for this draft. The Pirates got the #1 selection despite the Nationals and A’s having slightly worse records in 2022.
Holy signing bonus!
makes it feel less likely he is in the bigs this year. If that was the plan, the pirates could have used it as leverage for less of a bonus.
Top college arms, such as Skenes who was also well used, are typically rested once they are signed. He probably won’t pitch again in 2023.
Pirates folk are saying hes gonna head to the FCL at some point
If he does pitch, it will be a couple of appearances, most likely in AA Altoona.
He’ll do some pitching in the Arizona fall league in Oct more than likely
Big leagues this year please he’s at least 1 and a half away.
I dont know about that, Ham. His stuff plays right now. I’d be a little surprised if he isn’t in the majors at some point next season.
As a 21 year old with 2 plus pitches already there’s a real shot with a good fall and spring that he’s called up next season.
Coop-Other than the magical April this is the brightest news of the otherwise dreadful year.
He has the potential to be another Gerrit Cole.
I expect him to at least get a ML cup of coffee next year and would not be surprised if he become a good ML pitcher even then.
@James123 – It makes no difference if Skenes pitches in the bigs in 2024 or not. It’s extremely rare that the #1 overall prospect who is drafted as the first overall pick takes less than the full slot amount, regardless if he is fast tracked or not. I’m surprised Skenes left $521K on the table, but his signing bonus did set a record for the largest ever so apparently that was enough for him and his agent. Starting salaries in MLB are only $750K, so even if he pitches in MLB next year, he’s going to have to do so at a very low salary for a few years, hence the $9.2M signing bonus.
Slot is just a guideline and they have to offer 75 percent or something of it minimum if player takes pre draft physical. They usually agree to a minimum amount before drafting the player. If some how he fell he would have signed for 8 million. He wasn’t going back to LSU or pitching independent league.
There’s only ever been one 1/1 pick in the slot era that signed for full slot value, Torkelson. Most actually sign for a few hundred thousand less, like this.
The $500k is slightly more of a discrepancy than normal, but not by much.
Holy grounds for a grievance Batman! No, they did not do that.
to offset the costs, both Shelton and Haines’ contracts should be terminated
All for terminating them but that wouldn’t even cover the .2 part of 9.2m
then how about a down payment?
I wonder what Nutting had to hock to swing that? His left Nut?
Skenes is being interviewed by the Pirates announcers in the booth during the game and is watching the team he just signed with, getting their proverbial rear end’s kicked
In typical Pirate fashion, they’ve struck out 5 times in 3 innings and are losing 8-0
Another blowout loss to add to their dismal season
Whats the nfl draft contracts like? Im a hockey and baseball guy. Seems to me the baseball players , the to 40ish any way get the best mone. In hockey is generally a 3 yr deal wil a 925k aav a 92.5k signing bonus and the first round guys are eligible for bonuses that can get them in the 2.5-3 mil neighborhood
This past draft, Bryce Young got $27 million guaranteed at signing.
NFL has hard slot values i think. MLB is soft.
So an MLB draft has a certain cap a team can spend on all their picks and that amount is based on the assigned value of each pick. the first overall pick is worth about 9 million, and a 10th rounder is worth around 50k- and things scale down pretty hard pretty fast (back end of round 1 is only a little over a mil i think)
Teams have 2 options- take best available and the player will want at least that slot value (or more in some cases), or spread it out. With the first pick teams have traditionally talked to all the guys they are really considering, and taken the one that agrees to take less, so they can draft a guy who fell in the draft since they wanted more.
Prime example was in 2012 Byron Buxton was the universally thought best draft prospect, but he wanted more money. The Stros liked Correa just as much. Correa was willing to sign for less, so they took Correa and used the savings to draft i think Lance McCullers (and a few other guys) in the next few rounds.
Last year i think Texas did it with getting Kumar Rocker to take less and then get another 2nd tier SP in the draft that fell 20-30 picks too far with their 2nd round pick.
Also remember timelines…. Baseball- 1-2 will see any amount of time next year in the bigs. The college guys are 2 years out, the HS guys are 4-5 years out. Those are the guys that make it- and not all of them do even early 1st rounders often do not make it to the bigs (rare since the team will push them almost no matter how poorly they are doing to avoid admitting the guy is a bust)
Porter was universally ranked higher than Rocker.
The money just isn’t there in hockey, compared with baseball & football.
Hockey arenas don’t hold the number of fans in comparison to football and baseball
Main difference is that baseball gives out bonuses and contracts in NFL.
NFL has signing bonuses as well
Great pick and hopefully, he and Keller will give them a solid 1-2 punch.
Rotation looks like it has some talent coming up. Jared Jones, Thomas Harrington, and Anthony Solometo are looking good at their respective levels. Priester just made his debut. Mike Burrows returning next season, as will their second round pick from last year in Hunter Barco. Both JP Massey and Braxton Ashcraft are welcoming surprises. I would love to see Roansy rebound and Luis Ortiz figure it out. Plus Oviedo could be a potential option. Hopefully they got a lot of opitons for 2024-2025 and beyond.
Looking forward to seeing these guys, mlb1225. Appreciate the insights about guys on the farm
I’ll represent most pirates fans. Always prospects coming. Always wait until next year. Teams been rebuilding for 30 years. Next year never comes.
You are spot on, Dream!
I’m almost 68, retired, been a fan of the Pirates since 1966, have attended numerous memorable games, Clemente’s 3000fh career hit, Stargell hitting a home run over the right field roof at Forbes Field, ASG at 3 Rivers in 1994, yet nothing else could thrill me more than the Bucs making it beyond the playoffs before I’m too old or disgusted to appreciate it
Many of us have seen more rebuilds than change of Governors in this state
We’re tired of waiting for next year. It never seems to arrive
I remember a lot of the prospects, Dream. Richie Zisk. Couldn’t break into the “average” outfield here and did reasonably well in Seattle
How about Chad Hermanson. It’s eerie that much of the hype we hear today reminds me of his “ascent” and quick descent
or Brian Bullinger another #1 pick that never lived up to his hype
Even Kris Benson who became more famous because of his wife than his pitching career
Just to put that in perspective, imagine that in 1970 you are lamenting the fact that the team has been in rebuild since 1940. But what you say is true. It’s been a LONG time since this team has been an established contender with a solid future. Sell the team now, Bob Nutting – you’ll make that fortune you’ve been chasing all these years.
4 batters into tonight’s game and we’re already losing 4-0
Chances aren’t good we’ll come back since our hitters are so bad
Nutting’s family wants nothing to do with this franchise, so I’d say, eventually he’ll sell the team, but the question is when?
He’s a businessman first and foremost and made his fortune as publisher of several newspapers in West Virginia
Scouting and drafting has changed a lot since then. Those two had middling stuff and weren’t touted as such huge stars as Skenes. Looking at other top picks like Cole, Price, Strasburg (while healthy), I like his chances. Big difference with a guy of his caliber.
It’s been a LONG time since this team has been an established contender with a solid future.
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They had the second best record in baseball in 2015. The 5th best record in 2013. That’s a contender.
A billionaires life span is like 113 years. They can go up into space in rockets because they know nothing is happening to them. Unless Nutting goes Howard Hughes or something he ain’t going anywhere.
Correction he made his fortune inheriting his dad’s newspapers and his kids will make their fortune inheriting his businesses.
His children don’t want to get involved with baseball nor do they want to inherit the Pirates
Dream- Well said.I am glad that you see the light.
Let me ask you though,why doesn’t Cherington realize what almost every Pirate poster sees and some like me for at least a year?
Nutting did a twofer last time that he had to get involved,and I can guarantee you that as a businessman he can do the same thing again.
They have a number of talented players,although no superstars,but that with the proper instruction and management and some augmentation could make a good team within maybe even a year.
Cherington is quite good at certain things but it befuddles me as to why he cannot fire anyone especially when it has become quite evident from the results of their record for over a year.
Joe- Actually they had the second best record in MLB for the three year period but finished second each year to the team that had the first.
Corn-Richie Zisk was a born hitter on a team that needed pitching.They got Terry Forster and Rich Gossage for him
Hermanson was both managed and coached by Lloyd McClendon who evidently wanted everyone to use his battling style and was best at “stealing first base” and not so good at coaching and managing.
Firing Haines didn’t seem to help Brewers. But offense is awful and it’s not uncommon to fire someone to shake things up. Cherington probably has another year. If next year doesn’t look better Bob has to strongly consider making a move. 2 years from now he has to be gone. Can only get draft lottery 2 years in row. Next year has to be contend no matter what. So if you try to contend 2 years in row and fail to be above 500 you need to go. Unless your farm is doing incredible.
Dream- I do not want them to have to fire BC.I think that in certain key major respects he has done well.
His problem is that he is clearly blind to the major shortcomings of many of the people who he has hired.
How can he not see how bad Shelton is just because he has been patient with the young players?
How can he not see how poor the Pirates are in fundamentals?
How can he not see that Cruz was smart enough to determine to get his own hitting coach and improve?
You are looking to the future and draft picks because that is how you are basically programmed but even with that you see that the five year rebuild into contention has to be no more than five years.
If BC does not see that I really believe that he would be a good farm director but does not have the overall skill to cut it as a GM.And maybe that is what the Red Sox saw also.
@The Man He may sell soon to be honest. The system is retooled and profitable right now. Only thing missing is TV contracts to make it a highly profitable organization. Last I knew and this was 10 years ago, the Pirates were estimated to be worth 12 billion dollars. Far cry from 500 million it was worth after bankruptcy.
@MLB everyone is forgetting about JT. They guy is going through JT and I think if he comes back health, it will be in argument for a rotation spot again. If JT comes back slower than expected, then Ortiz, Contreras, Jones, Priester, and others will be covering him until it shows he can perform. They have plenty of talents waiting in the “wings” and can steadily move JT and Burrows along without rushing them too much. With the addition of Skenes, it gives another option next year when potentially JT and Burrows are rehabbing from Tommy John.
The offense is lackluster and that needs to be looked at this offseason. Rather it’s Free Agency or potential trade to address 1B or RF power bat, it is needed. I think Hayes and a bust offensively but subpar defensively. It’s hard to knock him out of the lineup when his glove and arm is so good. Pirates could look at a platoon situation with Jack Suwinski since he is horrible against lefties. With the pitching, I’d let the young guys have a go next year and ride out the bumps and bruises that can be a headache next season.
And by gosh, please get a real hitting coach! This hitting coach is trash and should not even coach little league.
Haines was a failure as hitting coach in Milwaukee and after he was fired, the Bucs hired him He practically ruined Yelich’s offense
What does that say about Ben Cherington?
@The Man have you ever thought Shelton made that decision and BC went with it. Out side of the coaching issues, BC has done fabulous with refilling and retooling the farm system after Neal Huntington traded away the system for guys like Archer. Huntington went off course there and it altered his position and he can fired for it. I am pleased with BC for the most part. The Derek Shelton extension is probably the only thing I haven’t liked by BC. But Shelton can surprise us and become the manager that BC sees.
I’ve thought about that possibility, PiratesFan1981 but BC seems to be a hands on type of GM and not the kind that would allow his field manager to make coaching decisions based on recommendations
Then again BC hired Shelton so who knows?
Though I do agree that BC has done well in refilling the minors
The only thing that can surprise me about Shelton is the day it’s announced he’s been fired. It can’t come too soon
Fan, I agree with 75% of your comments here, but let’s wait and see what’s this next wave of prospects brings before we have him knighted. Huntington started the rebuild process ala “the Tampa model” and it came to fruition during the Cutch/Walker/AJ era. Then he somehow lost the blueprint.
It remains to be seen if these guys can ascend to that level. Granted, the minors are “stocked” again but I’m going to reserve judgment on what it’s stocked with
When will Shelton become the manager BC sees?
It’s been 4 years if I’m not mistaken, Shelton misuses both his position players and pitching staff
His lineups seem to be drawn from a hat, the team has only scored 388 runs for the entire which is last in the league
Granted he hasn’t had top tier players but this team has regressed from last year.
We didn’t forget about JT. We just don’t care.
1981-The only way that Shelton could surprise us is that he shows that he is not acting like the manager with the worst record in ML history for a reason and it is not the players or system coaching that caused it.
Also exciting with Kennedy and Shim down in the FCL putting up strong numbers, although I’m curious why Shim hasn’t pitched in a while.
He’s not a cheap owner for Nutting.
An enormous talent! Good job, Bucs!
Has Dylan Crews signed yet? If not, it’ll be nice for to see them own the highest signing bonus ever for a little bit. Second time they’ve done that in the franchise’s history. At least they own the highest signing bonus for the first overall pick.
Crews isn’t beating skenes signing bonus.. Nats have 9.1M left in their draft pool
Not that I have heard. And no reason they can’t top it with the 2024 number 1 pick!
tomorrow he’ll requested a trade out of there.
Hey slider with fumunga cheese. Post your bull where SOMEONE might listen….Trumps social media platform
Buuba-I see the normal suspects are back at what they do best,trolling.
The April record kept them away but they are like flies on dog crap,they just cannot help themselves.
how does one requested in advance Slider?
Don’t think so. He couldn’t be in a better situation than Pittsburgh.
But I just read the knock against Crews is spin pitches in the dirt. Damn, he’d have fit in so well with the current Pirates
By outfield depth, I take it you mean guys who’ve come up, floundered, and were sent back down
Hope the Pirates finally take a long look at Andujar after the deadline to put the question of whether he has what it takes or not to rest
My next least favorite Buc is in the leadoff spot in tonight’s game
I wonder how many times Connor Joe will get called out on strikes while looking?
He’s second on the team with this unflattering stat
I think I saw Joe strike out looking 5 times in game against the Cubs while batting 3rd. I remember thinking, Why does he bring a bat?
inflation
Great news. He’s a generational talent and seems like a good young man..
A future rotation by mid-2024 of some combination of the following looks pretty darn good:
Keller
Skenes
Oviedo
Ortiz
Contreras
Priester
Jones
Solometo
Ashcraft
Kranick (He’ll be on an innings limit coming off TJ)
Burrows (when he’s recovered from TJ and will also be on an innings limit)
Brubaker (might be headed for the bullpen when back from TJ)
This needs to be supplemented though, so if I were the Pirates I’d try to add a controllable starting pitcher in the offseason using the middle infield and outfield depth in the upper minors/MLB level. Maybe someone like Michael Kopech.
Other options would be trying to trade for Mike Clevinger or Trevor Williams if Sox decide not to move Kopech. They could also resign Velasquez on the cheap for depth, but he wouldn’t be back until mid-season.
On the backend you will also have Brubaker and Burrows working back by midseason as well., barring any setbacks.
Yeah, I edited and added them.
Brubaker would be back by mid-season, albeit on an innings limit (probably headed to the bullpen).
Burrows is probably iffy since he’s only 23 and the Pirates will still want him to start, so with the extreme innings limit he’ll be on (like Ashcraft this season), he might not be a MLB option unfortunately. Hopefully I’m wrong.
Yes, they will be on limited innings but real nice depth added in the 2nd half and ready to go in 2025
Bubba Chandler if he figures it out, and Hunter Barco who will comeback late this year.
Maybe even Thomas Harrington as well. I didn’t include Chandler because he’s in A-ball, and didn’t include Barco because he’s hurt and hasn’t pitched professionally yet.
The Pirates definitely don’t have a lack of starting pitching depth in the upper minors. Have to have numbers since not all of them will work out.
They will sign someone or 2. The middle infield and outfield depth is 5th outfielders and utility men.
DreamGM,
That’s all Clevinger or Williams would require to obtain since they’re both only signed for one more season and both are backend starters. For Kopech, you’d have to package multiple of them together, or headline a package with Peguero or Gonzales and use the rest to be secondary players in the package.
Clevinger is most likely to be a free agent. Most their young pitchers are relievers and back end starters. I think they will go with someone with more upside than Williams. Anderson Quintana Velasquez there is a track record of what they do.
Clevinger has a mutual option for next season. Whether or not both parties pick that up will probably depend on how the team finishes the season.
I don’t think any of them are better than Williams and are just more expensive players that offer similar value. Anderson is having a terrible season and makes $13 million per year, and Quintana hasn’t even pitched this season because of injury and also makes $13 million.
I think Williams is a better pitcher than both factoring in age/injury history, he’s younger, and he only costs $7 million. Although if I’m the Pirates I would resign Velasquez and he should be back in June or July from his injury.
Dream-I usually don’t say this but what about signing Sonny Gray for 3years $55 M?
They will sign someone. Maybe probably hopefully 2. Look at their free agent signings the last decade. It’s pitchers no one else wanted and they usually improved them. Don’t see why they would stop. I expect a 1 year under 10 million pitcher.
I understand that but they need to sign a bond fide pitcher to a somewhat lengthy contract.You’re right,they have been good at reclaiming pitchers for the 10-12 years,but if they want to compete next year in the final year of their five year plan they need more than that.They will still not have the depth but if they have Keller,Gray,Scenes at some point,your free agent pitcher,and Oviedo,with Brubaker,Kralick,and Priester in reserve it would be a formidable group.
10 million for a definite maybe.
Don King says only in America!
You would have thought they learned their lesson after Bryan Bullington
Nope. They hit on Cole at #1 so gonna ride the hot streak.
Great player probably will be in LA or NY in 5-7 years.
maybe he won’t like LA’s smog or NY’s crimes
Dream- Actually,I think that Davis was a good choice but it befuddles me that they needed a catcher but have evidently given up on him thusly and gone with someone who is even greener.
Hopefully they liked his bat so much they didn’t care. His ceiling was a bad to almost decent catcher but his bat plays. Looks so bad and they seem to have given up on him as a catcher.
I don’t think they’ve given up on him as a catcher, I just think they’re higher on Rodriguez’s defensive abilities. Once Hedges is gone I think Davis will start catching once or twice a week and essentially be the “backup” to Rodriguez and play RF/DH the other days of the week.
Small market low budget Pirates already fielding trade offers for the high priced 1st pick in the draft. Lol.
Good one! Never heard that one before!
Glad I made you laugh. Gotta have a great sense of humor being a Pirates fan.
Yeah, agreed, but even by your standards, that was a dumb comment. I mean, we’re used to trolling from fans of the Yankees and Mets—they’re just miserable morons—but a hometown guy?
(Sorry. Couldn’t resist)
Sorry the comment clouded your day. Best wishes.
Skenes was throwing today at PNC during Pirates BP. Signed some autos too. He’s ready to pitch tomorrow’s game but I’m no expert.
Geaux Tigers!
It has become too painful to watch. The lack of hustle, the gross mismanagement of pitchers by Shelton, his unimaginative lineups and game decisions. Hopefully, his mismanagement of Priester yesterday will not ruin Priester. Not the first time he has let a rookie get shelled. Maybe Shelton thinks that it builds character. Shelton seems to be managing as if the Pirate players were different than they are. He is not using their talents, but managing them as if they had different talents. Sad. The worst part of it is that Shelton will be back next year.
Well tonight he’s letting Keller get shelled tonight. Jeez, if Skenes has been watching these past 5 games—these past two in particular—he may say no thanks
Shelton’s biggest sin is that he cannot get through to his young team. He will not hold them accountable, whether it’s a cell phone on the field or a handful of sunflower seeds while the action is happening, to mindless at bats and guffaws on the basepaths you wouldn’t see in Pony league.
But today, he is allowing an All Star to get hammered and fielding a team of guys better suited to AAA ball
Corn-Could it have been because Endy was catching and is not a ML catcher at this point no matter what the hype is?
It’s exactly my belief, Mendoza. Endy isn’t yet a major league catcher and will need serious training to become one.
Question is, whether they’re is someone capable of teaching him
Once Hedges is gone, it will be a toss up between the bullpen coach or Shelton
Skeptical-I am considering using some version of your name in the future but if I do I will request approval from you first.!
If Shelton is back next year I really really hope that Nutting gets involved,demotes BC to scouting director and trade consultant,and gets a new GM and manager and system coaching director to be able to take advantage of the good young players that BC has acquired.
@Mendoza, feel free to. I don’t own the term. Thanks for asking though. I just hope it’s not making fun of me, but if it is, I probably earned it.
Skeptical-I would never make fun of you,you are one of the best posters on here and I always enjoy your posts.
I wonder if he’ll make it to Three Rivers Stadium this year!
The announcers constantly describing Keller as an “ All Star “ while Cleveland is busy tearing the cover off his pitches, Endy striking out 3 times for the second consecutive game, the offense in a constant struggle to score runs, if I was responsible for the overall performance of this team, I’d be out of a job this morning
Both Shelton and Haines need to go, there’s no rational reason why this team should be this bad and BC must make changes before they ruin the confidence of these young players
The Pirates have never had broadcasters who bring you the actual game. Whether it’s the horrible Joe Block or if it’s Greg Brown, the idea is to sell tickets. Great tradition going back to Mr Vanilla himself, Lanny Frattare.
Could be worse. Listening to Bob Prince was like being in a bar. Little game coverage during his comments about friends, events, golf and people in the hospital. The worst
That said, I’ll keep “trying to see the bigger picture” here. Truth is, there is nothing approaching hope for this franchise, just a great deal of the usual hype that is regurgitated by a few of the gullible here
They have a west coast trip coming up and the Phillies coming in afterward.
And someone wants to convince me 34 more wins are possible
This is a pathetic team, from the owner to GM, to the manager, hitting coach to the players. If Oakland and KC are the worst teams in the league, this team is right there with them. The best part is, they seem to be fine with losing as frequently as they do
Maybe the next wave of players will be the cavalry coming over the hill. But judging by what’s come up so far, I sincerely doubt it
why is it that Cleveland can effectively play small ball but Shelton refuses to allow the Bucs to play it?
A team that is struggling to score runs should be doing anything to get on base
And I’m predicting they will lose over 100 games this season
Why is it that Suwinski, who is mired in another f his slumps and who is not a lead off hitter, is batting lead off? Same answer to your question: Shelton.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad they won today and that they came back from being behind but coming back isn’t what they should be doing.
Shelton needs to check his lineup so his best hitters are getting more ABs. Reynolds isn’t one of those better hitters. Maybe if he was lower in the order he wouldn’t be putting so much pressure on himself to produce
Over/Under 5 years til he’s traded?
Nutting invested $9 million dollars into him, he’s an asset. Nutting wants a financial return on his investment, in terms of attendance, winning and potential playoff revenue
It will be years before he’s even considered for trading
Okay I should rephrase. 5 years into his pro career after his ML debut. Do you think he’ll be traded?