Skenes believes Pirates can win without spending like Dodgers

Paul Skenes believes the Pittsburgh Pirates have a path to success that doesn't include them spending like the Los Angeles Dodgers.

"If you go out and sign the (Shohei) Ohtanis, maybe it (winning) becomes a little bit easier ... but there's no reason we can't play fundamental baseball and execute at a very high level without having players like that," Skenes said, according to Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

"It's not a complicated game."

The Pirates finished 13 games back of a playoff spot last season, finishing with a 76-86 record. Their $84-million payroll ranked 29th, which was $156 million less than the Dodgers and $230 million less than the New York Mets, who led the majors in payroll to begin 2024.

Pittsburgh has spent $8 million on two free agents - Andrew McCutchen and Caleb Ferguson - this offseason, while the Dodgers have dished out more than $450 million on 10 players - not including Roki Sasaki - this winter.

Instead of the amount of money the Pirates spent on free agents, Skenes pointed specifically to blowing games they should have won last season as a difference between having a winning record and not.

"You can say whatever you want about the acquisitions and all that, but we need to play better, too," Skenes said.

"I don't know what the number of games was ... we should have won (but) we didn't. It was more than 10 last year, I know that. You look at the Dodgers, Tigers, Guardians, Yankees, Brewers - teams that were in the playoffs - and we were watching from home because we pissed those games away."