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On March 26, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported that the New York Yankees were willing to make a blockbuster move for Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes.

“Sources say the Yankees were prepared to offer four top prospects last July,” Heyman wrote. “It isn’t clear who those were, but as of the deadline, their best prospect package might have included some combination of Cam Schlittler (who’s now establishing himself as a potential ace), George Lombard Jr., Spencer Jones and Carlos Lagrange, or possibly others.

“Schlittler and Ben Rice are the young players most coveted by other teams, and in at least all other instances, the Yankees have been super protective of them.”

Amid this report from Heyman, former MLB general manager Jim Bowden believes that if the Yankees had been willing to offer this haul for Skenes, the Pirates should’ve accepted it.

“So the Yankees should not have offered what is being said they offered,” Bowden said on the March 31 edition of “Foul Territory.” “If they did offer it, I don’t have confirmation they offered it. But based on the report that’s there, the Pirates should have gone ahead and closed the deal immediately for me. So let’s kind of go through why I view it that way.

“And I love Paul Skenes, don’t get me wrong, but I know that when his free‑agent days are up, he’s not going to be able to sign long term in Pittsburgh. They’re not going to pay him $400 million or whatever it’s going to take at that time.“

Pirates Would Have Benefitted From Yankees’ Reported Offer

Moreover, Bowden says that the players the Yankees reportedly offered for Skenes were under cost control for multiple years and wouldn’t demand the money their star pitcher will likely command to remain long-term in Pittsburgh.

“If I’m Pittsburgh and I got offered those four guys that I could control for six years and not have to pay any of them for three years, I have a better chance of winning with those four guys, and I have a better chance of winning longer with those four guys,“ Bowden added.

“So if in fact they were offered that, which I highly doubt, Ben Cherington should have made that deal immediately and called a press conference.“

Carlos Lagrange Left Good Impression During Spring Training

Lagrange is one of the players who caught attention this past spring training for the Yankees, even though he didn’t make the Opening Day roster, as he was sent down to minor league camp . One of the players that Lagrange left a good impression on is Yankees star Aaron Judge .

“Anytime you can run up to 103 [mph], and he has a great feel for his off-speed pitches; that’s a lethal combo,“ Judge told Meredith Marakovits on YES Network on Feb. 21.

“So just excited for his future, excited for what he can do on the mound for us, but Lagrange, hey, I’m excited. He’s going to have a bright future with us, and I’m looking forward to his debut whenever that comes.”

Eduardo Razo Eduardo Razo is a sports writer for Heavy.com, covering the NFL, MLB, and college football. He has previously covered the NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB for NBC Sports Washington and NBC Sports Bay Area & California, and has freelanced for PSG Talk, covering Paris Saint-Germain. He also worked as an editor at Athlon Sports, focusing on MLB and the NFL. More about Eduardo Razo