Pirates fans who died laughing at Spencer Jones-Paul Skenes rumor might want to circle back

Whether you're a snickering content creator backing away from his All-Star Game podium or a realtor selling Livvy Dunne an apartment that comes with Babe Ruth's ghost embedded in its walls, one thing we can all agree on is that "Paul Skenes: Future Yankee" is far from guaranteed, but there isn't nothing there.

Call it a big-market superiority complex or call it something else ... no, no, that's mostly what it is ... but Yankee fans looking for a trade-market splash are going to be asking about Skenes for the rest of time. That urge led to MLB insider Jon Heyman's attempt to quash the chatter last summer (and take advantage of the buzz), noting that during Spencer Jones' absurd Triple-A hot streak, the Yankees viewed him as almost entirely off-limits ... unless someone like Skenes came along.

To Pirates fans, this was the funniest thing in the goshforsaken world. Oh, you'd only trade your strikeout-prone lumberjack of a top prospect for our ace? Good luck with that.

This tweet was never that funny, though. Heyman even said Skenes was off the table. Like, right there in the text. This wasn't an offer. It wasn't a rumor. It was just an attempted endorsement of Jones' talent. But Pirates fans took this as Yankee hubris and the fanbase's attempt to rebuke offers that didn't even exist, and they got their chuckles out of it all last summer, as Skenes won the Cy Young with a 1.97 ERA and Jones got injured at Triple-A (another laugh riot).

But ... what do we have this season? After Jones' second call-up, he's given plenty of evidence that there's one-of-a-kind value in his bat when it's peaking. We always knew it'd be hard to unlock the best version of Jones, but ... the best version of Jones is an insane baseball player, hence the Heyman tweet. He wasn't available, save for a jaw-dropper. And now, since his second call-up to the Yanks, he's sporting a ridiculous 21.6 barrel percentage and approaching 80% zone-contact percentage, a dream considering his potential pitfalls (average is ~85%). On the year, his Savant percentages show he hits the ball ridiculously hard in the sweet spot of the swing more often than most, all with a 90th percentile sprint speed to match.

Context-free, would you trade that guy for three years of a pitcher with a 3.97 ERA whose velocity is fading with every outing?

That tweet, of course, is another exaggeration in order to create a sensation that the Ancient Gods called "laughter". I'm sure Pirates fans will be rational and understand that, though.

Paul Skenes' trade value continues to dip as Spencer Jones rises with Yankees

Heyman's statement here was never meant to imply that Jones was more valuable or more talented than Skenes. It was merely meant to reinforce that the Yankees, midway through Jones' all-time Triple-A heater, were starting to watch him lock in and didn't want to sell him in a package that didn't blow them away.

They held, Skenes lost his grip, and now we're in an intriguing spot. If the Pirates want to sell low, though, we're all ears. Anthony Volpe's on a similar Triple-A heater right now, and we'd consider parting ways for the right return.

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