Konnor Griffin Signs Record Breaking Contract With Pittsburgh Pirates, Exposes How Cheap MLB Owners Are

The Los Angeles Dodgers are ruining baseball, because small-market teams simply don't have the money to sign players to high-dollar value contracts. That was the topic of almost every conversation around Major League Baseball during the 2025-2026 offseason, particularly among fans eager to make excuses for cheap owners who have happily built support for a salary cap that will allow them to spend less money.

But the argument that small market teams don't have money needs to be buried. Forever. And the news on Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop prospect Konnor Griffin on Thursday afternoon is the latest example why.

Unless you're a die-hard baseball fan, immersed in the world of prospects, farm systems, or long-term fantasy baseball, you may not have heard of Konnor Griffin. But you will. Soon. Griffin is the consensus #1 prospect in the sport, ranked that high in virtually every major publication including FanGraphs, MLB Pipeline, Baseball America, and Keith Law's rankings at The Athletic. 

And it's not just that he's number one, it's the methodology and expectations behind the ranking that are most impressive. For example, here's how FanGraphs prospect staff describes him: "Griffin is not only clearly the best prospect in baseball, but one of the top handful of prospects ever evaluated during the current era of FanGraphs scouting, which goes back a little over 10 years."

Pretty impressive, right? And the Pirates just locked him up for much of his career. 

Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Konnor Griffin celebrates after hitting a two-run home run against the St. Louis Cardinals during the first inning of a spring training game at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. (Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)

Konnor Griffin Gets Paid, In A Big Way

Prospect evaluators have agreed that Griffin, even though he's just 19-years-old, excels at everything. He's an elite defensive player at shortstop, the most important position on the field. He's got immense raw power, and the contact ability to make the most of it. His plate discipline is elite, he has a well-above average hit tool, peak exit velocities that rival the best hitters in baseball, and the speed to steal 65 bases last season. 

This is a superstar in the making, if it all comes together in the big leagues. 

In spring training, Griffin was so impressive, it was widely believed he'd shown he was ready on Opening Day. But the Pirates, ever cheap, sent him to the minor leagues. A week later, on Wednesday, reports broke he was being promoted ahead of their home opener on Friday afternoon. On Thursday, the reason for that quick promotion became obvious: they signed him to an extension. 

Baseball's arbitration system is based on service time, and for players promoted early in the season, even if they don't play the entire season, they can accumulate enough service time to become free agents after six seasons in MLB. But if that promotion is delayed long enough, teams can effectively get a seventh year of team control at significantly lower prices than the free agent market. Small market teams have historically delayed these promotions to save on homegrown stars. 

Griffin though, just agreed to a 9-year, $140 million extension, a new record for largest guarantee for a player who has not yet played a game in MLB. That's why the Pirates are promoting him now. He was ready last week, but now that they don't have to worry about that year of team control, they're willing to bring him up where he always should have been. 

As much of a sure thing as Griffin seems to be, there's always risk with young players. Major league pitchers are the best in the world for a reason, and whatever weaknesses exist, they will exploit. Maybe Griffin's contact rates suffer against better pitching, leading to fewer home runs and more of an above-average player than game-changing superstar. The point being that the Pirates, despite Griffin's propsect rankings, are taking on a significant amount of risk by giving out a $140 million contract to someone who hasn't played a game yet. 

They did it anyway. And in the process, they revealed, yet again, that they have much more money than they let on. For context, $140 million is roughly the present day value of Freddie Freeman's deal with the Dodgers after accounting for deferrals. The Pirates always had the money to sign Freddie Freeman, they just didn't want to. Therein lies the problem, and why the system in baseball is far from "broken."

The Pirates were willing to give Griffin nine years because it buys out several years of free agency during his peak time of production. He won't reach free agency now until the end of the 2035 season, when he's 29. It makes sense for them, and for Griffin, while he's almost certainly leaving money on the table, he gets a giant guarantee now. It also shows that small market teams have money to spend, they just choose not to spend it on players in their 30s, as that's the declining phase of a player's career. 

Does it mean they can bid as high as LA or sign as many top free agents? Of course not. But the crying poor act, is just that, an act. When they feel like there's excess value to be found, suddenly there's money available. 

At the end of the day, this is great news for Pirates fans; they start each year with a core of Konnor Griffin and Paul Skenes. It's just that for many of them, they're likely wondering why more money wasn't used to build a better team around them.