The Pittsburgh Pirates are keeping Konnor Griffin in town. The 19-year-old shortstop has signed a nine-year extension that locks him up through 2034, the team announced Wednesday. The deal is worth $140 million with no options or deferrals, according to the New York Post. Awards escalators can take the contract up to $150 million.
This marks the largest contract the Pirates have ever handed out, surpassing Bryan Reynolds‘ $106.75 million extension in 2023.
“Since joining the organization, Konnor has consistently demonstrated the traits we want in a Pirate — a daily commitment to improvement, a team-first mindset and a strong desire to win,” Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said in a statement. “He has met every challenge in front of him, and we are excited to watch him continue that growth alongside his teammates in Pittsburgh. We are thrilled he will be with a Pirate for a long time.”
The news comes just days after Griffin’s major-league debut, which made him the first teenager to appear in the big leagues since Elvis Luciano and Juan Soto in 2019. The No. 9 pick in the 2024 Draft skyrocketed through the minors last season, slashing .333/.415/.527 with 21 home runs and 65 steals while climbing from Low Class-A to Double-A. Griffin went 7 for 16 (.438) with three doubles in five Triple-A games before his call-up this year.
The Pirates gave Griffin a chance to win the shortstop job in spring training, though he stumbled a bit (7 for 41 with 13), specifically swinging through too many pitches in the zone. We ranked Griffin has the third-best prospect in baseball entering spring training. Here’s the write-up:
The rap on Griffin during his amateur days was that he had every tool but the hit tool, the most important of the bunch. It was encouraging, then, to see him ease concerns about his swing-and-miss during his first pro season. He connected on more than 75% of his attempts while showing off the power (he cleared the 114 mph threshold) and speed (he stole 65 bases) combination that gave him a high ceiling. Griffin even kept his strikeout rate under 24% during a 21-game stint in Double-A, suggesting that he wasn’t just feasting on younger pitchers or those with less raw talent. Knowing when to adjust priors is one of the trickiest parts of evaluating players. Given everything about Griffin’s year, it would be silly to ignore how much higher his chances of reaching his star ceiling are now than they were 365 days ago.
The timing of the extension allows Griffin to retain Prospect Promotion Incentive eligibility. Those are extra draft picks given to teams that do not manipulate the service time of top 100 prospects. Griffin remains PPI eligible because he was called up early enough that he will accrue a full year of service time this season, and the extension was signed after his MLB debut. For the Pirates to get the extra pick, Griffin must win Rookie of the Year this year, or finish top three in the MVP voting from 2026-28.
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Despite the nine-year term, Griffin will still hit free agency as a 28 year old in 2034. He locked in a big payday now and will still have a chance at a huge free-agent payday down the road. Griffin’s $140 million deal is the third largest given to a player with less than a full year of service time, behind only Julio Rodríguez‘s 12-year, $210 million extension with the Seattle Mariners and Wander Franco‘s 11-year, $182 million extension with the tampa Bay Rays.
Griffin is expected to be a favorite in the National League’s rookie of the year race (+200, per Caesars), though it’s a stacked class including righty Nolan McLean (New York Mets), first baseman Sal Stewart (Cincinnati Reds), and second baseman JJ Wetherholt (St. Louis Cardinals).
The Pirates are 7-4 in the young season, led by ace Paul Skenes and new additions Brandon Lowe and Ryan O’Hearn. Pittsburgh has already scored 52 runs this year. They didn’t score their 52nd run until their 17th game last season.
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