Trade speculation for Pirates star serves as reminder to Cardinals fans

It’s only late May, and already trade speculation has started. Well, at least it has for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Back in the NL Central cellar again, with an offense that vacillates between horrible and offensive, reports have started surfacing on the possibility the Pirates may trade ace Paul Skenes.

The chatter has become so pervasive that Pirates general manager Ben Cherington had to shoot down any possible trade rumors while talking with reporters last week. Still, that hasn’t stopped reporters from speculating on what a trade might look like.

Ken Rosenthal at The Athletic recently mused on what a Skenes trade might look like. Mark Feinsand at MLB.com opined on whether the Pirates should even consider dealing Skenes. Notably, Feinsand quoted two executives who thought Pirates fans might revolt if Skenes is sent elsewhere.

That certainly puts the Cardinals fans' recent “revolt” when it comes to attendance in perspective. In fact, all of this reporting should remind Cardinals fans just how good we’ve had it in the last thirty or so years.

Yes, the last few years have been less than ideal. And it’s frustrating that the Cardinals have missed the playoffs five of the last nine years, especially for a franchise that is supposed to be the class of the National League.

Frustration and anger is to be expected and, frankly, is warranted. The standards have clearly slipped, something even the team acknowledged after another non-playoff year in 2024. But in the midst of a surprising (and exciting) season so far, it’s nice to have a reminder that our issues as fans are first-world baseball problems compared to some markets.

The Pirates haven’t had a winning season since 2018 and haven’t been to the playoffs since 2015.  Since 1992, Pittsburgh fans have been treated to playoff baseball only three times, and two of those ended with a thud after losses in the Wild Card round.

They’ve seen Tyler Glasnow, Gerrit Cole, Josh Bell, and others leave for greener pastures. Potential future stars like Ke’Bryan Hayes haven’t developed as hoped. And now the rumors about Skenes, one of the biggest stars in the sport, have already started.

Can you imagine if national baseball writers were writing about whether the Cardinals should think about trading Masyn Winn or Victor Scott II this year? As absurd as that sounds, it’s not even an apples-to-apples comparison given how brightly Skenes’ star shines.

And yes, the Pirates are the representatives of futility, but they aren’t the only good comparison point in the division. The Cubs have that 2016 World Series title, sure, but they also have a grand total of five playoff appearances since 2008. Before that 2016 title, the Cubs hadn’t even been to a World Series since 1945.

The Reds, meanwhile, have had only four playoff appearances since 1995, and none of those appearances allowed fans to see the team advance out of the Division Series. And even the Brewers, the class of the division the last few years, last appeared in a World Series in 1982…and we all know how that went.

Of course, I’m not saying anything new or groundbreaking to any Cardinals fan. We of course understand how good we’ve had it, and in some ways, that’s the impetus behind the frustration. But it still is nice to get a reminder, as we did with the Skenes trade rumors, how wonderful it is to have such a rich history to cheer on.

And, to top it all off, this year, the first of a supposed rebuild, has been so exciting since the calendar turned to May! If the season ended today (May 25), the Cardinals would be tied for the third wild card spot for the playoffs!

Should the third wild card be celebrated? Not necessarily. But in a time of discontent, the team still reminds us how bad it could be otherwise. Pittsburgh fans would throw a parade for that third wild card spot at this point!

Last week, I wrote about how the Cardinals’ surprising start may not last but should be savored nonetheless. The recent rumors revolving around Skenes, whether true or not, should also remind us to savor what we have.

It could always be worse.