With the World Series set to wrap up within the next five days, offseason trade ideas are beginning to be discussed.
One of those comes from Bleacher Report’s Kerry Miller and it is a trade proposal that would shake up the National League Central for years to come.
Miller, in a story outlining “wild” trade ideas for the offeason, proposed a trade sending Pirates right-hander Paul Skenes to the Cardinals in exchange for shortstop JJ Wetherholt, catcher Leonardo Bernal and pitchers Matthew Liberatore, Liam Doyle and Michael McGreevy.
Miller cited last season’s Garrett Crochet trade as a starting point for trade talks.
“Last offseason, Boston gave up a haul of four prospects — including two who were very comfortably regarded as top 100 prospects — for two years of Garrett Crochet (before almost immediately signing him to a long-term extension). But we’re talking four years of team control on what has been a more dominant force on the mound,” he wrote.
Obviously, the likelihood of a Skenes trade is minimal, and even more so with a division rival. Nothing can be ruled out of possibility, though, as we’ve seen with shocking trades across all sports in recent years.
The future of both franchises would be reshaped with a trade of this magnitude, and it feels like Pittsburgh would come out on the better side of it, as the proposed deal has it receiving multiple top-100 prospects in return for what could be just two years of team control that the Cardinals would get from Skenes.
We’ll have to wait and see what the offseason holds, and while Skenes will likely not be traded, the chatter surrounding the two-time All-Star on the move will be happening throughout the winter.
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