promotion to the Pirates rotation brought came with plenty of fanfare, but beyond the simple arrival of perhaps the sports top pitching prospect, there are also broader implications for his addition to the roster. General manager Ben Cherington and manager Derek Shelton said this week that the Bucs will move to a six-man rotation now that Skenes is in the big leagues ( ). With three young arms Skenes, , helping to comprise the teams starting staff, the goal of the six-man group will be to manage that trios workload and afford some extra rest. Big picture, were tracking volume and work volume for every pitcher on the team, no matter who they are, Cherington told the Pirates beat over the weekend. He went on to add that while he understands Skenes workload management will get more attention because of his status as a recent No. 1 overall pick and top-10 prospect in the sport, the Pirates look at it for every pitcher and its a part of the decision-making in terms of again, trying to win a game and also what happens after the game and getting them ready for the next start. Skenes joins a staff also including Jones, Priester, , and . Veteran lefty , currently out with a forearm strain, could factor in once healthy as well though theres no current timetable for his return. Hes still in the midst of a weekslong shutdown, though surgery was not a consideration as of late April. Just how long the Buccos will stick to a six-person staff isnt presently known. Health will be a prominent factor, as an injury anywhere in the current sextet could simply prompt a move to a more traditional five-man arrangement. The schedule also plays a role. Shelton pointed to a pair of days off in four-day span late this month that could throw a wrench into the six-man plan, noting that the team will re-evaluate at that point. That certainly doesnt sound like the six-man pivot will be permanent, but its of some note that the Pirates are comfortable and perhaps even prefer to use such an alignment when navigating lengthy stretches with little to no time off. Pirates fans will want to check out Gormans piece for more extensive quotes from both Cherington and Shelton, as well as some of the pitchers who are in the group. Perez, for instance, explained his rationale for preferring a more conventional five-man setup, while Falter noted that he loves the extra day of rest and provided his own explanation. The other domino effect of Skenes big league arrival was the likely departure of a pitcher who once represented the same type of future building-block hope that Skenes does now. Certainly, was never regarded as well as Skenes is at the moment, but he was the headliner of the trade that sent righty to the Yankees. Contreras was considered one of the games 100 best prospects at the time and held his own quite nicely through his first season-plus. DeAndre' Bembry Jersey In 2021-22, he gave the Bucs 98 innings of 3.67 ERA ball with slightly worse-than-average strikeout and walk rates all before celebrating his 23rd birthday. The makings of a solid mid-rotation arm looked to be there. However, Contreras has fallen into a swift decline, losing velocity and watching his strikeout rate drop despite a move to short relief. Hes been tagged for a 6.17 ERA since Opening Day 2023, fanning just under 19% of opponents against a rough 10.6% walk rate. Hes out of minor league options. The Pirates bit the bullet and designated him for a signment to open a 40-man spot for Skenes. Cherington discu sed the difficult decision to do so in an interview . Cherington said following the DFA that the Pirates still believe Contreras can be a good big leaguer. The Pirates gave Contreras as much time as they felt they could, however, and Cherington noted that the alternative moves we could have made to open up that spot were not going to be best for the team in the short-term. Thats a notable departure from the type of rebuilding mindset that has been prominent throughout much of Cheringtons tenure. He was hired following the dismi sal of longtime GM Neal Huntington as the Pirates looked to a new voice to rebuild the organization from the ground up. The Bucs still arent a division powerhouse by any means, but theyre five and a half games out in the Central and have the makings of an interesting rotation with Skenes, Jones, Keller and Priester all having risen through the system. Bats like , and offer some optimism. Ownership may not have given the green light to spend much in the past couple offseasons Reynolds extension notwithstanding but it seems clear the Pirates are focusing on the here-and-now far more than in the past. Its easy to argue that an earlier call to the big leagues for Skenes wouldve aligned more with that mentality, but on the same token its also fair to point out that the Bucs have typically waited until a player would be past Super Two status before calling up their top prospects. That definitely is not the case with Skenes. Mackey suggests that another club is likely to trade for Contreras or at least claim him off waivers. Im inclined to agree. A change of scenery wouldnt surprise many and seems the likeliest outcome. That, however, also leaves the Bucs with little to show for their trade of Taillon. Mackey runs through several trades that have panned out that way, pointing out that while trades of and have worked out reasonably well (Id add , who netted ), Pittsburgh has come up empty on several notable swaps (Taillon, , , ). For a front office with perennial payroll restrictions from ownership, converting on trades of big leaguers is exponentially more important. The Pirates surely hope that they wont be in a position to be trading players away this summer, but if they are, theyll need to improve over their recent track record. Rajon Rondo Jersey