Skenes Dismisses Yankees Speculation Tied to Dunne's Ruth Apartment Bid

In the long theater of baseball mythology, even a failed apartment bid can become a trade rumor. Paul Skenes, the Pirates' reigning Cy Young winner, gently pushed back this week against speculation that his girlfriend Livvy Dunne's rejected offer on Babe Ruth's Manhattan apartment signals a desire to wear pinstripes — calling the leap a 'stretch' and reminding observers that admiring Ruth and wanting to join the Yankees are very different things. Skenes remains under Pittsburgh's control through 2029, and with the Pirates clinging to a wild-card spot, the story of a young ace belongs, for now,

If you're a baseball fan, you're probably a Babe Ruth fan.

Skenes dismisses the idea that his girlfriend's apartment purchase signals his own interest in the Yankees.

Mark

So Livvy Dunne tried to buy Babe Ruth's apartment and got rejected by the co-op board. How does that become a Yankees trade rumor about Skenes?

Mimi

It doesn't, really. But when you're a famous athlete dating someone who's trying to buy property in New York, people connect dots that aren't there. Skenes himself said it was a stretch.

Luke

Right, but the Yankees rumor existed before the apartment thing. There was an anonymous Pirates player last offseason saying Skenes wanted to play in New York. That's the actual story.

Mimi

True. And the Yankees did try to inquire about him before the deadline last year. So there's some real interest there, or at least there was.

Mark

But Skenes shut it down when asked about it after winning the Cy Young?

Mimi

He did. And structurally, there's no way it happens soon anyway. He's under contract with Pittsburgh through 2029.

Luke

That's the key constraint. The Pirates also have a playoff spot to chase right now—they're 52-49 with two weeks to the deadline. They're not trading their ace.

Mark

So this is really just noise?

Mimi

Mostly, yes. But it's the kind of noise that follows young stars. The apartment bid just gave people a new peg to hang the old speculation on.

Luke

And Dunne's explanation for the co-op rejection is interesting—she doesn't know why they said no. Could've been anything from her public profile to something else entirely.

Mark

So we don't actually know why the board rejected her?

Luke

No. She speculates, but that's all it is.

Le Pouls

A co-op board's quiet rejection of a $1.59M apartment bid somehow ignited fresh Yankees trade chatter around one of baseball's brightest young arms.
Skenes, already weary of New York speculation after an anonymous teammate's comments last offseason, shut the narrative down with calm but unmistakable firmness.
Dunne offered her own wry theory for the denial — co-op politics, public-figure wariness, or perhaps a building full of Alabama fans — but none of it pointed toward the Bronx.
The Yankees had already probed Pittsburgh's willingness to deal before last year's deadline and found a locked door; contractual control through 2029 keeps that door sealed.
With the Pirates at 52-49 and holding the NL's final wild-card position, trading their ace before August 3 would be an act of organizational self-sabotage no rumor can justify.

Paul Skenes has grown accustomed to the speculation, but that doesn't mean he welcomes it. When asked whether Livvy Dunne's attempt to purchase Babe Ruth's former Upper West Side apartment suggested he might be angling for a move to the Yankees, Skenes was measured but dismissive. "That's probably reading a little deeper into it than what is true," he said, calling the connection a "stretch." Being a Babe Ruth fan, he noted, hardly makes someone a Yankees prospect.

Dunne, who has been with Skenes since their overlapping days as LSU athletes in 2023, had placed a $1.59 million bid on the Manhattan apartment — only to have the building's co-op board reject her application before she could collect the keys. On TikTok, she speculated the denial had nothing to do with finances, floating the possibility that the board simply didn't want a public figure in the building — or, she joked, that they were Alabama fans.

The Yankees angle isn't new territory for Skenes. Last offseason, an anonymous Pirates player claimed to have heard Skenes express interest in New York on multiple occasions. Skenes dismissed that story too, even after winning the 2025 NL Cy Young Award. The Yankees had quietly inquired about his availability ahead of last year's trade deadline, but Pittsburgh refused to engage.

The contractual reality makes the speculation even harder to sustain: Skenes is under Pirates control through 2029. More immediately, Pittsburgh sits at 52-49 with the August 3 deadline approaching, occupying the NL's final wild-card spot. Trading their ace now would be unthinkable. The rumors will persist — they always do — but Skenes has made clear that a girlfriend's real estate search in Manhattan is not a map to the Bronx.

Paul Skenes has heard the speculation before, and he's tired of it. When Jon Heyman of the New York Post asked whether his girlfriend Livvy Dunne's attempt to purchase Babe Ruth's former apartment in Manhattan was a signal that the pitcher himself might be interested in joining the Yankees, Skenes didn't hesitate. He called the connection a "stretch." "That's probably reading a little deeper into it than what is true," he said. "If you're a baseball fan, you're probably a Babe Ruth fan."

Dunne, who has been dating Skenes since 2023 when both were athletes at LSU, had recently made a bid on the Upper West Side apartment for $1.59 million. The building's co-op board rejected her application before she could even take possession of the keys. On TikTok, she offered her own theory about the denial. "Honestly, it wasn't financial," she said. "It could have been, for all I know, they could have been Alabama fans and I went to LSU. Maybe they didn't want a public figure living there, but I was literally supposed to get the keys and that week they denied me."

The Yankees connection isn't new. Last offseason, an anonymous Pittsburgh Pirates player was quoted in a report saying he'd heard Skenes mention multiple times that he wanted to play in New York. When asked about those comments after winning the 2025 National League Cy Young Award, Skenes dismissed the story outright. The Yankees had even made inquiries about his availability before last year's trade deadline, but the Pirates showed no willingness to discuss a deal.

Skenes remains under Pirates control through 2029, a fact that makes any near-term trade to New York or anywhere else highly unlikely. Beyond the contractual reality, Pittsburgh has its own reasons to hold firm. The team sits at 52-49 with two weeks remaining before the August 3 trade deadline, currently occupying the final wild-card spot in the National League. With a playoff berth within reach, the Pirates have zero incentive to part with their ace.

The speculation will probably continue—it always does when a young star's personal life intersects with baseball geography. But Skenes has made his position clear: a girlfriend's real estate search in New York doesn't mean he's packing his bags for the Bronx.

Citations marquantes

That's probably reading a little deeper into it than what is true. If you're a baseball fan, you're probably a Babe Ruth fan.

— Paul Skenes, on the suggestion that his girlfriend's apartment bid signals Yankees interest

Maybe they didn't want a public figure living there, but I was literally supposed to get the keys and that week they denied me.

— Livvy Dunne, on the co-op board's rejection of her apartment application

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Skenes Dismisses Yankees Speculation Tied to Dunne's Ruth Apartment Bid

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