Olivia Dunne’s boyfriend Paul Skenes will NOT be playing for the rest of this year as the No. 1 Pittsburgh Pirates look ahead to next season … after the LSU star arrived to see him play
Olivia Dunne’s boyfriend Paul Skenes will NOT be playing for the rest of this year as the No. 1 Pittsburgh Pirates look ahead to next season … after the LSU star arrived to see him play
Olivia Dunne will not get another chance to see her boyfriend in action this season as he was only dropped from the minor league schedule next year.
Picked #1 overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the MLB Draft, Paul Skenes recently played in Single-A and Double-A while preparing for life in the Bigs.
Dunne was in the stands at the Altoona and Bradenton games to watch Skenes in action just weeks after the pitcher confirmed their romance.
His first Double-A appearance didn’t go as planned, however, as he gave up four runs on three hits in the first inning for the Altoona Curve in a game against the Akron Rubber Ducks.
He was retired after recording just two outs in the first inning while running two batters. After pulling it out, Altoona won the game 9-8.
Paul Skenes has played seven minor league games but is no longer used by the Pirates
Skenes was picked first in this summer’s MLB draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates
Olivia Dunne traveled from Baton Rouge to Pennsylvania – where school is due to start
Meanwhile, the Pirates put the right-hander on the development list on Tuesday, meaning he will continue to train at a Pirates facility but will not play in minor league games for the remainder of 2023.
“We are excited and encouraged by the positive things that Paul has been able to accomplish in his short tenure with the Pirates organization,” Pittsburgh general manager Ben Cherington said in a statement. “He ticked all the boxes that we had planned for him for the 2023 season.”
“The goal now is to focus on a full season off in preparation for his first full pro year in 2024.”
The star pitcher at LSU — where he met Dunne — signed a deal with a record $9.2 million bonus after the Pirates picked him first overall.
Dunne has 4.4 million Instagram followers and is the NCAA’s highest-earning female athlete
Skenes, 21, was named National Player of the Year and National Pitcher of the Year before helping LSU win the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska, where he received the Most Outstanding Player award.
In five starts with the Florida Complex League Pirates, single-A Bradenton and double-A Altoona, Skenes knocked out ten batters, walked two and allowed five hits and four earned runs over 6⅔ innings. He completed all runs and walks in one game, his double-A debut.
Skenes recently confirmed his romance with Dunne to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette – and opened up about their relationship and the difficulties of dating as a world-class athlete.
“It’s definitely beautiful,” Skenes admitted. “To be honest, sometimes actually going anywhere can be a pain in the ass.”
LSU star Olivia Dunne poses during her fun-filled three-month summer on a speedboat in Italy
Dunne hosted an issue of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit and gave a behind-the-scenes look
“If either of us goes to Baton Rouge alone, there’s probably going to be someone there asking for something — a photo, an autograph, whatever.”
“It’s nice to be able to have this conversation.” She gets it. I wish she could come to a baseball game and just enjoy it. It annoys me.’
In the stands, Dunne appeared to attract attention while competing against Akron at the Peoples Natural Gas Field in the central Pennsylvania city by posting a TikTok video showing some fans waving at her.
She recently decided to take online classes this season due to concerns about her safety due to her increasing popularity.