“Anything to keep Paul Skenes away from the Bronx” - Fans troll as shocking Kyle Schwarber–Pirates rumors set off free agency buzz

Paul Skenes' Pittsburgh Pirates have been part of numerous key free agency conversations already, and the latest buzz regarding Kyle Schwarber has fans talking.

The Pirates were in on first baseman Josh Naylor and even reportedly offered him $80 million before he re-signed with the Seattle Mariners. According to ESPN's Jeff Passan, the Pirates are one of the landing spots for Schwarber.

"Pirates are in on free agent Kyle Schwarber, per @JeffPassan," the post was captioned.

Learning this development, fans got playful, saying the Pirates are working this offseason so to make sure they don't have to trade Skenes down the line.

"Anything to keep Skenes away from the Bronx ✌️" one fan wrote.

"They do know he’s going to command more than the vet minimum right?" another fan playfully asked.

"Pirates signing Schwarber would be like winning the Royal Rumble at number one. It can happen but what are the odds," one fan commented.

"Not gonna lie… …this made me laugh," one fan added.

"Hahahaha bet they offer Kyle at least 100 bucks," one fan reacted.

"Pirates want to waste another generational talent lmao," one fan commented.

The fan reactions suggest that netizens are surprised that the Pirates are doing something they don't generally do, which is to go after some of the best free agents on the market.

Paul Skenes wants to win World Series with Pirates

Paul Skenes just had another great season, which resulted in a unanimous NL Cy Young selection. The 2024 NL Rookie of the Year was earlier rumored to be interested in pitching for the Yankees, but the LSU alum made his feelings known regarding his status for the current team, which picked him first overall in the 2023 MLB draft.

"I don't know where that came from," Skenes said while denying Yankees rumors. "I don't know the reporter. I don't know the player that supposedly said that. But the goal is to win, and the goal is to win in Pittsburgh.

"I'm on the Pirates," Skenes said. "My goal is to win with the Pirates. I love the city of Pittsburgh. The fans are hungry to have a winner in Pittsburgh and I want to be part of the group that did that."

As such, the pitcher is not interested in the move outside of the Pirates currently, even though the team doesn't appear to get stronger for the 2026 season.