The cost of protecting Paul Skenes

In an era when MLB teams strive to protect young pitchers with strict pitch counts, the Pittsburgh Pirates face a dilemma with rookie Paul Skenes. 

Despite these measures, 2024 has seen a spike in arm injuries among top pitchers. The Pirates, who have a frugal owner, may not sign Skenes long-term. Should they preserve his arm or maximize his value now?

Notable pitchers missing significant time this season include Spencer Strider, Shane McClanahan, Sandy Alcantara, Jacob deGrom, Shane Bieber and Gerrit Cole. Various theories attempt to explain the cause of the arm injury epidemic, including the pitch clock, rising velocity and analytics. 

Texas Rangers right-hander Max Scherzer believes MLB's 2021 "sticky stuff" ban and resulting grip issues are to blame. Commissioner Rob Manfred counters that injuries have actually decreased since enforcing the sticky-substance rule.

Throwing a baseball at the most hyper-competitive level is incredibly stressful on the arm — especially the shoulder, rotator cuff and, most critically, a tiny little ligament whose health can determine the difference between winning and losing, riches and ruin. 

"Nowadays it's not 'if,' it's more likely 'when' it's going to happen," Oakland Athletics manager Mark Kotsay said of arm injuries, per Mark Macyk of MLB.com.

Skenes isn't an exception to the rule. He was removed from his last start after throwing seven shutout, no-hit innings versus the Milwaukee Brewers. 

Skenes threw 99 pitches, and his manager, Derek Shelton, explained to the media why he pulled Skenes.

"He was tired," Shelton said. "It really didn’t have anything to do with the pitch count ... It was about where he was at." 

This came after Skenes needed only six pitches to get through his final inning of work. His season-high is 107 pitches, which he hit in his previous start against the New York Mets on July 5.