{"id":671735,"date":"2026-04-09T15:57:17","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T15:57:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/671735\/"},"modified":"2026-04-09T15:57:17","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T15:57:17","slug":"pittsburgh-pirates-extending-konnor-griffin-shows-clubs-focus-on-winning-retaining-players","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/671735\/","title":{"rendered":"Pittsburgh Pirates extending Konnor Griffin shows club’s focus on winning, retaining players"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Pirates signed SS Konnor Griffin<\/a> to a nine-year, $140M contract extension through 2034 and the news was \u201cseismic\u201d for the club, with the decision \u201ccelebrated by Griffin\u2019s camp, the organization and the fanbase,\u201d according to Colin Beazley of the PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE. Griffin\u2019s extension is a \u201cstatement of intent toward not only 2026, but toward opening a window of contention through 2034.\u201d Not only is Griffin\u2019s deal the largest in franchise history, but it also sets him \u201cup to be the face of the franchise<\/a>.\u201d If the Pirates \u201cweren\u2019t interested in winning, they wouldn\u2019t have made this sizable a commitment to a player like Griffin.\u201d The Pirates have been \u201cdoing the right things to build a winner, as shown by an entirely homegrown rotation.\u201d The deal \u201cdoesn\u2019t guarantee a spending spree from ownership or that the Pirates will continue with extensions.\u201d However, beyond raising payroll, this is the \u201ctype of positive move that can affect perceptions around the league\u201d (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 4\/9<\/a>). <\/p>\n

LONG-TERM COMMITMENT: In Pittsburgh, Noah Hiles wrote anytime the Pirates had a talent worth celebrating, fans \u201cknew to enjoy every second, because more often than not, he wouldn\u2019t be here for long.\u201d But that \u201cwon\u2019t be something this young generation of Pirates fans will experience.\u201d For the next decade, Griffin \u201cwill be the face of their franchise.\u201d His long-term commitment to the organization \u201cprovides some much-needed credibility.\u201d While the Pirates will \u201cstill have to work harder than large market clubs to acquire elite players, having Griffin on the roster is a major selling point\u201d (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 4\/8<\/a>).<\/p>\n

OPEN WINDOW: USA TODAY\u2019s Gabe Lacques wrote extending Griffin was a \u201cwatershed moment for a perpetual punching bag, stopping the clock on losing a potential franchise icon before his nascent career amounted to a death march to free agency.\u201d Griffin and P Paul Skenes will play \u201cnearly four seasons together.\u201d Lacques: \u201cSure, this isn\u2019t the NBA, where you can build a club around two guys. Yet Pittsburgh\u2019s wealth of young pitching gives it a shot every year and suddenly, the notion of contending makes beautiful PNC Park a potential destination again\u201d (USA TODAY, 4\/8<\/a>). <\/p>\n

WHAT HAD TO BE DONE: In Pittsburgh, Joe Starkey wrote it is \u201cgreat news, but it\u2019s certainly no reason to be heaping praise upon team owner Bob Nutting.\u201d The Pirates did what they \u201chad to do and what so many teams around baseball are doing: They locked up a prized prospect at a fixed cost.\u201d This is \u201cmerely the cost of doing business, kind of like the Nutting finally cracking\u201d the $100M barrier on payroll this season. Starkey: \u201cGood for Nutting for doing his job. Now keep it up\u201d (TRIBLIVE, 4\/8<\/a>).<\/p>\n

GUARANTEED MONEY: THE ATHLETIC\u2019s Ken Rosenthal noted the agreement \u201cmarked the culmination of six months of discussions\u201d between the Pirates and Griffin\u2019s agency, Excel Sports Management. People from both sides mentioned that in the end, the nine-year term \u201crepresented a compromise.\u201d The Pirates \u201cinitially wanted 10 years of club control over Griffin,\u201d while Excel \u201cpreferred the number to be eight.\u201d For Griffin and Excel, the \u201cNo. 1 priority was the size of the guarantee.\u201d Griffin will receive a $12M signing bonus — $5M up front, $3.5M in 2027, $3.5M in 2028. His three arbitration years, worth a combined $39.5M, would \u201cput him near the top of the current arb market.\u201d His three free-agent years are worth a combined $81.5M, and the contract includes $10M in escalators (THE ATHLETIC, 4\/8<\/a>).<\/p>\n

DRAWING EYEBALLS: SBJ\u2019s Austin Karp writes MLB Network\u2019s out-of-market telecast of Griffin\u2019s debut on Saturday averaged 260,000 viewers, which is on par with what Skenes\u2019 debut drew on MLB Network (253,000 on May 11, 2024). Through this past Sunday, MLB Network\u2019s out-of-market live games are up 46%, led by the Guardians-Dodgers with 447,000 viewers on April 1. Meanwhile, through the early days of the regular season, four rookies are in the top 10 in terms of player page traffic on MLB.com and the MLB app. Guardians OF Chase DeLauter has the second-most trafficked player page through April 6, behind only Dodgers P\/DH Shohei Ohtani. Griffin is No. 3 in terms of most most-trafficked player pages, while White Sox 1B Munetaka Murakami is No. 5 and Tigers 3B Kevin McGonigle is No. 9 (SBJ).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Pirates signed SS Konnor Griffin to a nine-year, $140M contract extension through 2034 and the news was…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":671736,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2402],"tags":[5,4,10,776,64,4297],"class_list":{"0":"post-671735","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-pittsburgh-pirates","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-mlb","10":"tag-pirates","11":"tag-pittsburgh","12":"tag-pittsburgh-pirates","13":"tag-pittsburghpirates"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116375574501473834","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/671735","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=671735"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/671735\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/671736"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=671735"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=671735"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=671735"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}