Just two years after drafting him ninth overall in the 2024 MLB draft, the Pittsburgh Pirates have committed to Konnor Griffin long-term.
The Pirates gave the star prospect a nine-year, $140 million deal, tying him to the organization for the foreseeable future.
“It feels great knowing I will be a Pittsburgh Pirate for a long time,” Griffin said after signing the historic deal, per MLB.com’s Jason Mackey. “The goal is to win every year. And I believe we can do that. “It will be nice to have everything behind me and now I can just go play baseball.”
According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, the deal includes no options or deferrals.
Griffin’s contract is the largest in franchise history, per Mackey. Bryan Reynolds ($106.75 million) previously held the record.
This deal comes after Griffin was called up last week to make his MLB debut.
Bleacher Report’s Joel Reuter ranked Griffin as the second-best prospect coming into the season, and he’s currently ranked first overall by MLB Pipeline.
ESPN’s Buster Olney reported on April 1 that the Pirates and Griffin were “deep into negotiations” and were “making their respective cases over what an appropriate deal would be” for him. That report indicated that Pittsburgh was at least close to giving the 19-year-old shortstop a new deal.
Olney noted that the Pirates were proposing deals similar to the eight-year, $111 million deal Corbin Carroll signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2023, while Griffin’s team was pitching a contract more in the vein of Roman Anthony’s eight-year, $130 million pact with the Boston Red Sox.
Griffin had a strong showing in the minors last year, hitting 21 home runs and 94 RBI while slashing .333/.415/.527. He followed that up with an impressive spring training with the Pirates in which he hit four homers in 16 games.
Despite a worthy effort in spring training, Pittsburgh opted to keep Griffin in the minors with Triple-A Indianapolis. However, it only took about a week for the club to promote him to majors.
The Pirates have faced years of struggles, but it’s hard for fans not to be hopeful about the future with a top-ranked prospect like Griffin and a legendary pitcher in the making in Paul Skenes.
