Could Konnor Griffin be the Pirates shortstop on Opening Day? | MLB Tonight

Will the Pirates be willing to open up the checkbook and build out a roster to complement their reigning Sai Young award winner? According to Jeff Passin, the answer is yes. Not only the Pittsburgh Pirates going to spend this winner, they’re strongly considering giving the number one prospect in baseball, 19-year-old Connor Griffin, the opportunity to win their opening day shortstop job. So Sean, this has become a trend, especially with pitching where top prospects, they just shoot up the ranks, right? And Griffin has played 122 games in the minors. He has uh he hasn’t reached TripleA yet, right? If I’m not wrong. And but we haven’t seen a teenage position player, right? Make his debut since Juan Sto back in 2018. You live in Pittsburgh, which means you’re like super plugged in there, right? So like that’s why I’m taking you up on this. What can you tell me though about Conor? First off, this is music to the ears of Pirate fans that Bob Nutting and that in that ownership group wants to spend money and Jeff Passen’s reporting it. That’s a great thing cuz I think they know the window with Paul Ske is short. But they got this guy right here, Connor Griffin, number one prospect in the game. You want to talk about 6’4 225, a guy that’s that’s a real deal, real athlete, uh football player in high school. Has a great swing. What a short A to B. Down on the ball, man. Can he backspin a ball 330 20 20 home runs 65 RBI s this guy 6’4 225 he can flat out run so he was the ninth overall pick a little bit ago a true five tool player great bat speed plus power this guy’s an absolute stud and you can move him around a little bit if you don’t need it he he plays a great shortstop but he can really play anywhere he’s such a good athlete so it’s just a you know they need offense they need young players and that Pirate fan base is dying for some good players in that line. They need to keep Paul SK happy. Yes, they do. Yes, they do. I I mentioned that position player-wise, there hasn’t been someone that young to make their debut since Juan Sto. But when you talk about shorts stops to make their MLB debut before age 20, check out that list case. Wow. Look at A-Rod 18. A-Rod, Edgar Reteria, and Jose Reyes. Wow. It would be some elite company. Oh, elite company. And I think this kid, I think it’s foreshadowing. This kid’s elite. this kid is is going to be I mean they they I think they lucked out getting him at number nine a couple years ago in in the draft and this kid’s a real deal. So the other part of the report is that the Pirates are going to spend money this off season. They were seventh best in in team RA but the Buckos they ranked near the bottom in several offensive categories. Seems obvious but I’ll ask you anyway. What do the Pirates need? The Pirates need offense. Hang on a second. Let me shout that from the rooftop. The Pirates need offense. They got some legit pitching, young pitching. Paul Ske is best pitcher in the game in the top of that rotation there. They need offense. They need a bat. They need bats that can hit the ball out of the ballpark. And they need a couple of them. Uh, you know, I think when when you look at this, when you look at last year’s team, Spencer Horwitz is the only guy with over a 100 OPS plus, which is which is, you know, not great. Swinsky has scuffled. O’Neal Cruz has scuffled. You know, even even a guy like Brian Reynolds has had a had a 99 OPS plus. So Spencer Horwitz, nice trade that they got from the Blue Jays really really did a great job of putting together some at bats, but they need pieces other pieces to go with them. And you know, Donnie Kelly, one one thing they got right is Donnie Kelly is the right guy. Yeah. I mean, Donnie Kelly took over um from Derek Sheldon and he was, you know, I think he was six games below below 500, 59 and 65. So he was really good. the team loves playing for him, but they need some bats. And a couple of the bats that I was thinking about is, you know, a guy like Jorge Palano, okay, 26 home runs, can hit the ball of the ballpark. A guy that I really feel like, you know, if you went to get him, he’s a veteran presence. He would so well out there in Seattle, you know, he could be a guy that they really like. And uh, you know, and I also think too, Sarah, they’re going to have to find a way to trade some of their younger prospects, some of that pitching that they have. They have a plethora of pitching. I think a guy like Taylor Ward out there in in Anaheim would be a nice piece. 36 home runs drove 100 RBI’s. I think if if you’re Ben Cherington and and you’re the you’re that front office group, you need a guy that can hit the ball out of PNC PNC Park and can get you instant runs. Last year with that lineup, there was too many too many times they had to piece together three, four, five hits and they weren’t going to do it. So, it’s not just about for in your eyes backing up the Brinks truck. is also putting together some trade deals. It’s going to be a little bit of both. Bob Nutting is going to have to open up the wallet to go get a couple free agents, but they’re also going to have to trade some of these young players to get it to get a to get a big time bat. So, Jeff Passen also saying the Pirates are actually in on Kyle Schwarber and that they also offered 80 million to Josh Naylor before he signed. How serious does this team seem to you right now? I love it. I I love it. It seems serious. If you’re talking $80 million, that’s a real run at Naylor. That’s a real run. It took it took a little over 90 to sign him out there in Seattle. I don’t know if they’re in on Schwarber, though. That’s a nice thought. But but uh there’s going to be some other teams going to be. He’s like, “It’s cute. I’m not really sure.” That’s nice. That’s nice, but they’re not in on short. They They might be saying they are, but they don’t have that kind of money. Okay. Well, that’s big money, Sierra. No, it is. That’s big big money. 40 mil a year. That’s what it’s going to take. 35.

Siera Santos and Sean Casey react to reports on MLB Tonight that top prospect Konnor Griffin will be given a chance to win the Opening Day shortstop job for the Pirates.

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6 comments

  3. They're not going to spend any money. They'll act like they're going to but they're not going to. They just got done stiffing dudes on bonuses two seasons in a row. And it was like a million bucks they saved.

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