Pirates Open to Trading Starting Pitching, Could Be Cubs Trade Partner

AP Photo/Gene J. PuskarIn his latest piece about the Pirates trading away Johan Oviedo, Ken Rosenthal reported that the Pirates are open to trading another starting pitcher not named Paul Skenes. So while it still feels like it’s only a matter of time before that domino falls and Skenes gets shippied out of Pittsburgh, it isn’t likely to happen this season.

Despite having perhaps the best pitcher in baseball, the Pirates finished in last place in the NL Central with just 71 wins. Their lack of success mainly stemmed from a weak offense, one that scored an MLB-worst 583 runs. Their rotation was fantastic, with a 3.71 ERA that was sixth best in the sport, so they had several other strong…