Imagining blockbuster SF Giants mock trade with Pirates to address two big needs

The SF Giants will take on the Pittsburgh Pirates tonight for the first of three games at Oracle Park. Paul Skenes, the National League Cy Young favorite, is not scheduled to pitch in the series, but why not imagine a blockbuster mock trade for the Giants to acquire Skenes?

It does not seem like Pittsburgh plans to move Skenes ahead of the trade deadline even though they are in last place in the National League Central division. Even if the Pirates were listening to offers, it would take a heck of a package to land Skenes.

Imagining SF Giants trade package that would land Paul Skenes

The 23-year-old has been phenomenal in his sophomore MLB season. In 22 starts, Skenes has a 6-8 record with a 1.83 ERA in 133 innings pitched. He has 146 strikeouts compared to 32 walks and has a WHIP of 0.90.

There is a case to be made that he is the best pitcher in the game, so it is not a shock that it would take a massive haul to land him in a hypothetical trade.

It is fair to wonder whether the Giants would even have a strong enough farm system to land Skenes. They have their top prospect in Bryce Eldridge, who general manager Zack Minasian left the door slightly ajar to trading, but outside of him their farm system is not as well regarded.

If the Giants were to trade for Skenes, they would certainly have to give up Eldridge and would have to give up their top pitching prospect Carson Whisenhunt. They may even have to give up their other top prospects like Josuar De Jesus Gonzalez and Jhonny Level and throw in an MLB-ready player like Heliot Ramos to get the job done.

Maybe the Pirates would be nice and throw in infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa, a player the Giants have been connected to, just to sweeten the deal a little bit.

A mammoth trade like this would address the two biggest needs for the Giants ahead of the trade deadline: starting pitching and second base. Sure, it almost certainly will not happen but it is fun to dream about.

The Giants already swung one blockbuster trade this year by acquiring Rafael Devers, and thus far the Giants have not improved as much as they had hoped after that deal. Maybe that means president of baseball operations Buster Posey will be a little less ambitious with any trade deadline deals.

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