Konnor Griffin, Pirates agree on record 9-year extension

PITTSBURGH -- Konnor Griffin has been consistent with his desire to play baseball in Pittsburgh for a long, long time.

Now, those dreams have become reality.

The Pirates on Wednesday morning announced they’ve agreed to a nine-year contract with the 19-year-old shortstop, ensuring Griffin remains in Pittsburgh through 2034. Terms of the deal were not announced, but it's reported to be $140 million.

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It represents the largest contract in Pirates history, besting Bryan Reynolds’ $106.75 million deal from 2023, but it also forges a sturdy tie between Griffin and a city that suits him.

“I see a winning organization here,” Griffin said. “We’re gonna do a lot of great things with the players that we have. I wanna be a part of it for nine years. I wanna continue to be a part of the build of winning playoff baseball. This is a great place for me, a great place for my family. I couldn’t be more proud.”

As talented as the Jackson, Miss., native might be -- and he is -- Griffin has proven himself to be quite a person as well: humble and loyal with a great support system around him.

Now, Griffin and his wife Dendy can officially call Pittsburgh home.

The idea of a Griffin contract came up over the winter, general manager Ben Cherington said, explaining that chairman Bob Nutting was pestering him to get a deal done and lock up Griffin long-term.

On Wednesday, Nutting shared why the contract means so much to the Pirates and the city of Pittsburgh.

“It's a long-term commitment to where we're headed as an organization, where we're headed with this team,” Nutting said. “Being able to impact now and ensure the future has me particularly excited. This obviously is an unusual and dramatic step for the Pittsburgh Pirates. So I'm excited. I hope our fans are excited. I hope the city is excited. I know the organization is excited.”

Griffin's rapid growth has been on display since he joined the organization ... but especially in recent weeks.

When the Pirates reassigned Griffin to Minor League camp on March 21, it was a chance to reset, to stop pressing and get back to work. It hardly took Griffin any time to do that. He tore up Triple-A and worked his way to Pittsburgh within a week.

That response was encouraging for the Pirates. It also set the stage for the contract. At its core, Griffin’s response to the move showed the type of person he is, the type of player the Pirates were comfortable betting on with a long-term deal.

“Since the day Konnor signed, he has not only met every challenge that has been put in front of him from a baseball perspective, a skill development perspective, but he’s done that in a way that has always been about the team, putting the team first, representing himself and his family, the organization in the most first-class manner,” Cherington said. “He has earned trust through that.”

The contract serves as another mile marker in what has been an atypical and impressive rise for Griffin, a player the Pirates selected ninth overall in 2024.

He was the first high school player taken. There was concern whether his hit tool would play in professional baseball. That turned out to be laughably unfounded.

In 2025, Griffin ripped his way through three levels, debuting with Single-A Bradenton and finishing with Double-A Altoona, slashing .333/.415/.527 in 122 games, with 23 doubles, 21 home runs, 94 RBIs, 117 runs scored and 65 steals.

With just one year of professional baseball under his belt, Griffin became pretty much everyone’s Minor League Player of the Year and quickly ascended to the top of prospect charts, his five tools the envy of other Major League teams.

To others, it might seem like a lot. Not Griffin.

“Being 19, it’s pretty cool that all this is happening so quickly,” Griffin said. “But I’ve always kinda told my family and the organization, ‘I’m prepared for this. I’m ready for it.’ I’m ready to get on that field and go win some games, too.”

When Griffin arrived in Bradenton, Fla., earlier this year, that work continued. Again, more talk about the future, what he could become. Griffin responded by emphasizing the work, getting a little better each day, trying to be a sponge.

The same as ever, sometimes his responses can feel prerecorded they’re so perfect. But it’s genuine. It’s how he was raised.

Whenever workouts started, Griffin really put on a show, routinely cranking balls off the metal roof atop the batting cages at Pirate City. More baseballs landed on the building housing the home clubhouse. Griffin even cleared the batter’s eye in center field. Several times.

The most recent adjustment with Griffin came at the Major League level. Following the pomp and circumstance of his MLB debut, a packed PNC Park teeming with excitement, Griffin laced a double to the left-center gap that wound up being the key hit.

Then … 0-for-12. Griffin only hit the ball out of the infield once during that time. But it was his turn to punch back Tuesday, contributing two hits, including one that went 113.2 mph, flashing elite sprint speed and looking more like himself.

“Speed, power, arm strength ... when you talk about five tools, he’s got it all,” Pirates manager Don Kelly said. “He’s got the personality. He’s humble. He’s the best.”

As a result, there’s no concern about service time, arbitration or what a number might be in future seasons.

This type of deal made sense from the start, and they smartly found common ground by adding a ninth year. It moves Griffin more into the Roman Anthony conversation (eight years, $134 million with the Red Sox) than Jackson Chourio (eight years, $82 million with the Brewers) or Colt Emerson (eight years, $95 million with the Mariners).

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It’s a show of good faith by the Pirates. And now, from Griffin on out, it’s hard to feel anything other than thrilled that it’s done.

“The Pirates believed in me for a long time,” Griffin said. “For two years, they allowed me to progress through the Minor Leagues, just let me become the player that I am. To be part of this organization has been a blessing to me. Thankful to be able to be here for another nine years. The stability is really important to me and my family. It’s a great opportunity.”