One of Paul Skenes’s biggest weapons is his ability to stay present. He never looks back or too far ahead.
Despite just winning the National League Cy Young Award in November, it’s already in the rearview mirror for the Pirates’ ace.
“The award’s in 2025,” he exclusively told Channel 11. “We’re at 2026 now and just focused on having another good year.”
His 2026 season will start with the World Baseball Classic in March.
Some pitchers pass on the opportunity given the extra workload on their arms. While Shohei Ohtani will bat in the tournament, he won’t pitch. Others turned the opportunity down completely.
For Skenes, it appears it was a no-brainer.
“There is a World Baseball Classic, and they asked me. That was pretty much the calculus that went into it,” Skenes said. “It’s probably going to be the biggest honors of my baseball career. Playing on the highest level against the best of the best with USA on your chest, there’s nothing bigger than that.”
Once the World Baseball Classic concludes, he’ll surely be singularly focused on the 2026 Pirates season. He’ll be part of another pitching staff with young talent and high expectations.
The group is also extremely close. Some even got together for offseason workouts.
“For the most part, it’s pretty much the same group that we had last year. Guys are more confident in their roles. They’re more sure of themselves. They know what their role is a little bit more now, and we have some true competition within the pitching staff for 13 spots. That part is really fun. The friendship piece and the camaraderie, we got really close last season, stayed in contact in the offseason and showed up the first day, and it’s like we haven’t skipped a beat,” Skenes said.
With Skenes headlining the group once again, it’s only natural that he’ll take on a bigger leadership role entering his second full season in the Majors.
However, it’s not something he plans to force.
“We’ll see. I don’t think it’s quite so much about me. I think it’s about everybody else in the locker room. Who is going to step up? Who’s going to be that guy? Who are they going to listen to? So, if it’s me, great. If it’s Mitch (Keller) or Brian (Reynolds) or Brandon (Lowe) or Ryan (O’Hearn), any of those guys that we got, great, but bottom line, we need leadership and we need direction. (Manager Don Kelly)’s done a great job, and we’ll figure it out in the clubhouse.”
Channel 11 sat down with Kelly for a one-on-one interview on Tuesday. Click here for his comments on the team’s upcoming season.
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