Demilio: Pirates Must Extend Konnor Griffin Before It’s Too Late
The Pittsburgh Pirates already have one of the best pitchers on the planet in 23-year-old right-hander Paul Skenes.
Skenes is off to a historic start through two seasons of a big-league career that’s already resulted in National League Rookie of the Year and Cy Young honors. Through his first 55 starts with the Pirates, Skenes is 21-13 with a 1.96 ERA and 386 strikeouts in 320.2 innings.
By establishing himself as arguably the sport’s top starting pitcher so quickly, Skenes has all but priced himself out of Pittsburgh already. Next winter, he will be arbitration-eligible for the first time and will receive a healthy raise, followed by an even bigger raise the following winter and a potentially record-setting salary his final year of arbitration for the 2029 season. After that, Skenes will reach free agency and will be looking at an enormous long-term contract.
But given how the Pirates operate, Skenes likely won’t remain in a black and gold uniform for the duration of his contract. The best case scenario looks like he’ll spend three more years in Pittsburgh including this coming season.
Baring the biggest of surprises, a possible extension looks impossible given his market value. It would take the Pirates going at least two or three times beyond the franchise-record $106.75 million commitment they gave to Bryan Reynolds.
While it’s too late for the Pirates to secure their staff ace long-term, the Pirates must pounce on the opportunity to ensure they keep another potential cornerstone around as long as possible.
The Pirates need to extend top prospect Konnor Griffin, and they need to do it as soon as possible. Both sides are open to an extension, according to Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but if Griffin performs how everyone expects him to, any discussions could quickly turn one-sided.
Griffin is the consensus top prospect in baseball a year and a half after the Pirates took him ninth overall in the 2024 draft. He made his professional debut last season and quickly rose through the organization, reaching Double-A Altoona before the end of the season.
Combined between three levels, Griffin hit .333 with a .941 OPS, 23 doubles, four triples, 21 home runs, 94 RBI and 65 stolen bases in 122 games. He also won a minor-league Gold Glove at shortstop.
Griffin, despite not turning 20 years old until April and not yet reaching Triple-A, is competing to start at shortstop for the Pirates on Opening Day a month from today. He made a good impression to do so earlier in the week with a two-homer game against the Boston Red Sox.
There’s no such thing as a can’t-miss prospect in my opinion, but Griffin is as close as it gets. There’s not a thing on the field he can’t do and he possesses true five-tool potential. Not to mention he carries himself well beyond his teenage years.
Would making a serious financial commitment to a player yet to make his debut in the big leagues be a risk? Absolutely, but it’s a risk the Pirates need to take to keep a potential star in Pittsburgh as long as possible.
It’s also not unheard of to make such a commitment. Last month, I looked at a recent example involving Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Jackson Chourio, who signed an extension before making his Major League debut.
Will signing Griffin require a larger guarantee than Chourio? Probably. But Roman Anthony’s eight-year, $130 million extension (plus a club option) with the Boston Red Sox could serve as a potential framework and should be a deal the Pirates are more than willing to do.
As an added bonus, signing Griffin to an extension this spring would better the chances he makes the club’s Opening Day roster. It would at least accelerate his clock, though he probably won’t have to wait long to get called up if he starts the year in Triple-A anyway.
Maximizing Skenes and Griffin’s time together in Pirates’ uniforms is the best case scenario for the Pirates. And while Skenes’ days of calling PNC Park his home field are numbered, the Pirates need to do everything in their power to ensure Griffin stays put as long as possible.
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