Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes was rewarded with a record $3,436,343 from this season's pre-arbitration pool after winning the National League Cy Young award earlier this month, the Associated Press reports.

Skenes, 23, raised his two-year total to $5,588,400 under the initiative, which is intended to get younger players paid more while still under arbitration. The former LSU standout was the unanimous NL Cy Young Award winner after leading Major League Baseball with a 1.97 ERA and 216 strikeouts in 187 1/3 innings.

Skenes had a base salary of $875,000 in 2025 after earning $564,946 and won't be eligible for salary arbitration until after the 2026 season is set to become a free agent after the 2029 season. Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr . had previously set t

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