Paul Skenes blanked the Detroit Tigers earlier this week, lowering his league-leading ERA to 1.91 in what will likely be a Cy Young campaign for the reigning National League Rookie of the Year.
Despite this, the Pittsburgh Pirates are 19 games under .500, unable to draw a crowd unless there's a one-of-a-kind collectible giveaway at PNC Park, and careening toward yet another last-place finish in the National League Central division. If general manager Ben Cherington wasn't already on the hot seat, he definitely is now.
The Pirates had already been destined to be sellers at the trade deadline since, well, before the season even started.