Mark Madden: Pirates will cash in on Paul Skenes; he will get his cash elsewhere

Some say the Pittsburgh Pirates are the worst organization in big-time sports.

Given their priorities, they’re a lot closer to being one of the best.

That’s what the dorks who protest and rent billboards don’t get: There’s no mining shame and embarrassment from an owner and franchise that don’t care about letting you down.

To Bob Nutting, the sole purpose of the Pirates is to make profit. Given small-market constraints, the Pirates excel at that.

That’s why the Paul Skenes timetable feeds perfectly into what Nutting does.

Skenes is an absolute phenomenon. He just won National League Rookie of the Year and finished third in the league’s Cy Young Award voting.

Skenes is extra revenue every time he pitches at PNC Park. He energizes interest in general, will prop up hope in a playoff berth and maybe even help the Pirates claim one before he leaves Pittsburgh.

Skenes sells lots of jerseys. His number might as well be a dollar sign.

For the next two seasons, Skenes is in the “forced labor” portion of his MLB career. He has no negotiating leverage. He will make a mere $800,000 in 2025.

Skenes hits the first of his three arbitration years in 2027.

He won’t finish those in Pittsburgh.

At some point, if he continues to pitch as his talent dictates, Skenes will get an arbitration award of $30 million or more. (The biggest ever is $31.5 million.)

Nutting just won’t pay that. Skenes will get traded.

But in the next two seasons, Nutting will be cashing in every way possible on Skenes while paying him a fraction of his worth.

Nutting wants Skenes now. He doesn’t want him later.

Nutting doesn’t see paying Skenes big cash when the time comes as necessary to win. He sees it as profit being diminished with no guarantee of being made whole via team success producing more revenue.

That’s how Nutting thinks.

Skenes is a cash cow for the next two years. Nutting is excited by that. But Nutting is already thinking about how to best finagle Skenes’ exit.

So is Skenes.

If the Pirates offered Skenes $500 million for 10 years, Skenes wouldn’t take it. He can get that elsewhere, prosper further by being in a bigger market and have a legit chance to win. At any rate, the Pirates won’t make that offer.

Try to understand how the Pirates think because it makes perfect sense to them.

If the Pirates were even remotely concerned about winning, they would get two or three legit bats on three-year deals in free agency to maximize the Skenes window. The Pirates have a solid base of pitching besides Skenes. That’s the toughest thing for a small-market team to assemble.

Instead, the Pirates will sell you on a long-term future they know doesn’t exist.

But the con gets tougher when Skenes leaves, or it should. Because he’s a unicorn. There won’t be a better model.