Question: Could you make a strong argument for trading Skenes in the offseason to Baltimore would best the smartest path forward? Before a reactionary NO response, dream up lineup scenario's
Skenes for
Holliday
Ballsallo
The reason I don't think this would work is because it's next to impossible to get a pitcher as good as Skenes. It might be hyperbole to say he's the best pitcher in baseball right now, but besides a lack of experience, he basically has a strong claim to that, and I don't think there's really an equivalent young pitcher who we could project to take over that spot.
We seem to have a very good pitcher development system in place, but there's no guarantee that any of the depth we have become MLB players. Chandler has the upside to be an impact front of rotation guy to go along with Jones and Keller, but it would push the window back further to plan on that and he could be a reliever or a bust.
Adding in Skenes' cheap controllable years makes it impossible for me to dream up any kind of prospect package trade for him.
All that said, I think they definitely need to re-assess whether being too protective of prospects is preventing them from any chance at having enough bats to make anything matter. I firmly believe at this point that Skenes _is_ the window, so if we're too hesitant to trade someone like Chandler for an impactful bat, then I think we need to rethink that approach.
