There were a couple of rounds of media-created Paul Skenes trade talks earlier this season. They were driven by a number of national outlets, baffled by how little the Pittsburgh Pirates had done to surround Skenes with any offensive talent to speak of.

Thus, the presumption was that instead of building around Skenes, the Pirates would use last year’s National League Rookie of the Year as a giant chip to replenish a depth chart that hasn’t been properly rebuilt since 2015.

Pirates general manager Ben Cherington did his best to tamp down such speculation, only to have former Reds GM Jim Bowden print in The Athletic that teams were at least calling and inquiring about Skenes’ availability.

Nothing developed from that post. And just because other teams call, that doesn’t mean Cherington has to engage in a conversation. He probably didn’t. However, because these are the Pirates we’re talking about, anything is possible.

Hence, for a third time before we even hit the All-Star break, a national reporter is trying to gin up some Skenes trade conversation. This time, it’s David Schoenfield at ESPN.com who put together a list of “Godfather” deals — offers that “can’t be refused” — by teams holding seemingly untradeable talent.

One such player was Skenes in Pittsburgh.

“He’s arguably the best starter in baseball, perhaps on his way to a Cy Young Award in his first full season,” Schoenfield said. “He’s one of the biggest names in the sport — despite playing for the lowly Pirates — and a player you can build not only a pitching staff around but a championship contender. He’s under team control through 2029 and doesn’t even become arbitration-eligible until 2027, so the Pirates are still years away from paying him a fair salary. But Skenes is a pitcher — and pitchers get hurt. So, if the Pirates are open to listening …”

Schoenfield then proceeded to advance three potential trade offers from the Mets, Dodgers and Tigers, with Detroit having the best possible return in a package that featured stud outfield protege Max Clark and shortstop prospect Kevin McGonigle.

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Peruse the theoretical trade returns as you like via the link above. But the returning prospect hauls really aren’t the issue here. The audaciousness with which these national outlets toss around the very idea of trading Skenes is the bigger story.

Because the Pirates’ ineptitude makes anything seem possible.

These unfounded Skenes trade proposals are frequently in the news cycle because the Pirates are constantly doing things that make the rest of the baseball world think that even though this franchise has Skenes, it doesn’t know what to do with him.

See, for example, pulling him after 78 pitches in a scoreless fifth-inning tie on Sunday.

In other words, if the Pirates aren’t even serious about winning on days when Skenes pitches, why would they ever consider building a team that’s a threat to keep the club relevant on the other four or five games a week he isn’t pitching?

”Hey, if they’re saving his arm for the rest of the league and he isn’t going to stay much longer than 2027, maybe the rest of the league should just call now!”

So, just sell the Pirates on the promise of a truckload of prospects that may or may not succeed in exchange for a pitcher who is already an established superstar.

Why not? It’s what they always do to their own fans.

Sure. They’ll do it. They did it for Gerrit Cole. They’ll do it for this guy too.

I know for a fact the Pirates front office hates even seeing Skenes linked to trade rumors in these headlines, baseless though they may be.

Unfortunately, they have no one to blame but themselves for their existence.

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