Trending
The Associated Press
The young collector who scored a one-of-a-kind baseball card featuring National League Rookie of the Year Paul Skenes has turned down a trade offer from the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Topps announced Friday that the 11-year-old from the Los Angeles area had declined the deal and instead was going to put the card -- which features Skenes' autograph and a patch from a game-worn jersey -- up for auction.
The Pirates had put together a package that included 30 years' worth of season tickets behind home plate at PNC Park and the chance to play a softball game on the field in exchange for the card.
Skenes' girlfriend, LSU gymnast and influencer Livvy Dunne, also offered the card's owner the opportunity to take in a game with her in a luxury suite at the ballpark during one of Skenes' starts.
While the collector wrote in a journal entry shared by Topps that nabbing the card was a " dream come true," that dream apparently did not include spending the next three decades attending games at PNC Park.
The team posted on X after the decision that it was "bummed" but offered to have the fan at a game sometime during the 2025 season.
Fanatics Collect, which will handle the auctioning of the card in March, said it will donate its proceeds from the sale to fire relief funds in the Los Angeles area.
The card could hold pretty high value considering the potentially bright future ahead for the 22-year-old Skenes, who finished third in NL Cy Young Award voting following a outstanding rookie season.
The first overall pick in the 2023 amateur draft made his major league debut in May and put together one of the most impressive rookie seasons in recent memory. Skenes was selected as the NL's starting pitcher in the All-Star Game after just 11 starts and finished 11-3 with a 1.96 ERA in 23 games.
Skenes said over the weekend he hasn't thought about the potential of signing a long-term contract to remain in Pittsburgh, saying instead that his focus is on helping the Pirates take a step toward contending in 2025. He is eligible for free agency after the 2029 season.
Nats add pitching
WASHINGTON -- Left-hander Shinnosuke Ogasawara and the Washington Nationals have agreed to a $3.5 million, two-year contract. Ogasawara gets a $1.5 million salary this season and $2 million in 2026.
The 27-year-old was made available to Major League Baseball teams by the Central League's Chunichi Dragons on Dec. 10 had had until Friday to agree to a contract. Washington will pay the Dragons a $700,000 release fee.
Ogasawara was 5-11 with a 3.12 ERA in 24 games and 144-plus innings last season, striking out 82 and walking 22.