Pirates Must Sign Konnor Griffin to Extension

Griffin has shown his power early on in Spring Training, both in batting practice and in-game, with two big-time home runs vs. the Boston Red Sox on Feb. 26.

The 19-year old has never played at Triple-A and has just 22 games of Double-A experience, but the Pirates would be wise to add him to their Opening Day roster and also sign him to that extension.

His market value would be at the lowest it is right now and if he does make it to the 26-man roster and plays well, it will only get higher and higher.

MLB teams get six years of control with their players before they hit free agency and can then choose who they want to play for.

This includes three years at pre-arbitration, where they make the MLB minimum, $780,000 in 2026, or a little more than that. They then have three years of arbitration, where the team and player put up salary figures and can agree to that year's salary or go to arbitration, where they argue before a panel, who either sides with the player or the team.

If Griffin makes his MLB debut this season on Opening Day, or wins a top award, his pre-arbitration goes from 2026-28 and then arbitration years would go from 2029-31.

Pirates teammate Paul Skenes had a full year of service for 2024 when he won the National League Rookie of the Year Award, even though he made his debut in May.

There is also the issue of an impending lockout, with the collective bargaining agreement ending on Dec. 1, where there isn't necessarily a chance that there is a 2027 MLB season.

Players will still earn a year of service for 2027, so if Griffin earns his first full year of service in 2026, he would get another one in 2027 and then just one-year of pre-arbitration in 2028 before his three arbitration years.

The Pirates signing Griffin to a contract extension could buy out two-four years of free agency, depending on the length.

It also gives Griffin a chance to make more money early on, be the face of the franchise from the start and still hit free agency in his late 20s for another big pay day.

What An Extension for Griffin Looks Like

Most teams don't normally sign players that haven't made their MLB debut, but it has happened before in recent years.

Outfielder Jackson Chourio signed an eight-year, $82 million extension with the Milwaukee Brewers on Dec. 4, 2023. Chourio had a solid start, finishing third in 2024 NL Rookie of the Year Award voting and is now an important member of the Brewers future.

The one prior to that was the Chicago White Sox signing outfielder Luis Robert Jr. to a six-year, $50 million contract in 2020.

There have also been four other times this has happened, but for lesser money that both Chourio and Robert signed without making their MLB debut.

A good comparison for the Pirates is Red Sox outfielder Roman Anthony, who signed an eight-year, $130 million contract extension shortly after his debut in 2025. Anthony could also make upwards of $230 million, depending on if he reaches certain benchmarks.

Griffin will likely sign somewhere around Anthony, who was the previous consensus top prospect in baseball, but could be lower, as he hasn't made his MLB debut yet.

A contract with heavy incentives may also bring the overall salary down, but somewhere around the eight-10 year and $115-$150 million range is what would make the most sense for Griffin.