Pittsburg, PA
Pirates GM Discusses Potential Konnor Griffin Extension
PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates have the best prospect in baseball in Konnor Griffin, who heads into a crucial 2026 season with great expectations on him.
Griffin turns 20 years old next April, but could ink his future with the Pirates before he even makes a plate appearance at the major league level.
The Pirates aren’t known for their frivolous spending, but keeping Griffin around for the long-term and committing to that early on in his career might be the way to go.
Pirates GM Addresses Konnor Griffin Extension.
Stephen J. Nesbitt of The Athletic spoke to Pirates general manager Ben Cherington at the Winter Meetings in Orlando, Fla. this week.
They spoke on a host of topics, like free agency, trades and offseason plans, as well as whether they would try and sign Griffin to an extension.
Cherington said that they haven’t had discussions with Griffin on a potential extension, as their focus is more on what is most important this offseason, such as big-time trades and signing free agents to bolster their lineup in 2026.
“You chase down 100 things, and three, four or five land,” Cherington said to Nesbitt. “That’s just the way it works. That’s still the stage we’re at.”
Would the Pirates Actually Sign Griffin to an Extension?
Most teams don’t normally sign players that haven’t made their MLB debut, but it has happened before in recent years.
Outfielder Jackson Chourio signed an eight-year, $82 million extension with the Milwaukee Brewers on Dec. 4, 2023.
Chourio had a solid start, finishing third in 2024 National League Rookie of the Year Award voting, with Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes winning the award.
The one prior to that was the Chicago White Sox signing outfielder Luis Robert Jr. to a six-year, $50 million contract in 2020.
There have also been four other times this has happened, but for lesser money that both Chourio and Robert signed without making their MLB debut.
|
Name |
Team |
Extension |
Year |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Jon Singelton |
Houston Astros |
5 Years, $10 million |
2014 |
|
Scott Kingery |
Philadelphia Phillies |
6 Years, $24 million |
2018 |
|
Eloy Jiménez |
Chicago White Sox |
6 Years, $43 million |
2019 |
|
Evan White |
Seattle Mariners |
6 Years, $24 million |
2019 |
|
Luis Robert Jr. |
Chicago White Sox |
6 Years, $50 million |
2020 |
|
Jackson Chourio |
Milwaukee Brewers |
8 Years, $82 milllion |
2023 |
The Pirates would likely have to pay more than what Chourio got, with Griffin having the title of best prospect in baseball.
Still, they would likely sign him for much less right now than if he does make his MLB debut in 2026 and has a great season, like winning the NL Rookie of the Year Award.
Why Konnor Griffin is Deserving of an Extension
No one expected Griffin to have the season he did after the Pirates took him ninth overall out of Jackson Preparatory School in Jackson, Miss., but he not only exceeded those expectations, he became a star in the making in less than a year.
Griffin quickly moved up in the Pirates minor league system. He started out with Single-A Bradenton after a strong showing in Spring Training, moved to High-A Greensboro on June 10, then finished off with Double-A Altoona on Aug. 18.
He slashed .333/.415/.527 for an OPS of .942 in 122 games this season, with 161 hits, 23 doubles, four triples, 21 home runs, 94 RBIs, 50 walks to 122 strikeouts and 65 stolen bases on 13 attempts.
The 19-year old led all of minor league baseball with 117 runs scored and the 19-year old became the first teenage draftee to have a 20-40 season, finishing with 21 home runs and 65 stolen bases. He was also the first minor league player to have a 20-60 season since 1982.
Griffin ranked amongst the best players in the minor leagues, including second in runs scored, fourth in batting average, fifth in hits, tied for seventh in RBIs and tied for eighth in stolen bases.
He was the first teenager since Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to hit .333 or better in a minor league season. He is also one of just five teenagers that were a part of the 20-40 club and stole the most bases of that group.
Griffin also played in the Futures Game during All-Star week, honoring the best prospects in baseball. Altoona teammate Esmerlyn Valdez joined him there as well, as the duo represented the Pirates for the National League.
Accolades Pile on for Griffin
Griffin’s great play earned him many awards and accolades, including earning the title of top prospect in baseball, with Baseball America, MLB Pipeline and The Athletic giving him the coveted spot.
He also won honors like Baseball America naming him their Minor League Player of the Year Award and MLB Pipeline naming him their Hitting Prospect of the Year and Debut of the Year.
The Pirates also honored Griffin with the Honus Wagner Player of the Year, given to the best player in their minor leagues, and the Bill Mazeroski Defender of the Year, given to the best defensive player in the minor leagues.
Griffin ended his season by earning an MiLB Gold Glove Award, which bodes well for the Pirates, who are reportedly eyeing him as the starting shortstop for 2026 Opening Day.
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Sidney Crosby left the Pittsburgh Penguins’ game against the Ottawa Senators at the Canadian Tire Centre on Thursday and did not return.
The team initially did not disclose why Crosby was ruled out of the game, but coach Dan Muse told reporters postgame that Crosby has a lower-body injury. Crosby left the ice and went to the locker room early in the second period. The Penguins went on to beat the Senators in a shootout, 4-3.
Pittsburgh also played Thursday’s game without Evgeni Malkin, who has missed the last two games with an upper-body injury. It remains unclear how long he will be out, with the team only saying Malkin is “day-to-day,” according to a post on X from March 24.
Crosby returned to Pittsburgh’s lineup on March 18 against the Carolina Hurricanes after missing four weeks due to a lower-body injury suffered during the Olympic tournament. Crosby was injured during Team Canada’s quarterfinal win over Team Czechia after a hit by Anaheim Ducks defenseman Radko Gudas.
Crosby was placed on injured reserve and missed 11 games. In the five games since returning to the lineup, Crosby has tallied five points. This season, the 38-year-old star for the Penguins has a team-high 28 goals, and he is third on the team with 36 assists.
With 10 games remaining in the regular season, Pittsburgh (36-20-16) sits in second place in the Eastern Conference’s Metropolitan Division with 88 points. The Columbus Blue Jackets and New York Islanders both have 87 points.
A Pittsburgh hospital will be getting a big bonus for selling a $1.5 million-winning Pennsylvania Lottery scratch-off ticket.
UPMC Magee-Women’s Hospital sold the Cash Spectacular ticket, and, as a result, will get a $10,000 bonus.
According to the Pennsylvania Lottery, the Cash Spectacular is a $30 game that offers the top prize of $1.5 million.
As they often do when a big winner such as this one happens, the Pennsylvania Lottery is reminding players that scratch-off prizes are valid for one year from the game’s end-sale date, which can be found on their website.
The Pennsylvania Lottery also said that scratch-offs are distributed at random, so neither the lottery nor the retailers know where winning tickets will be sold.
Pittsburgh area million-dollar winners
Since the calendar flipped to 2026, the Pittsburgh area has been one lucky place, with multiple million-dollar or more winning tickets sold since January.
The first came on January 8 when a $1 million scratch-off was sold at a North Huntingdon Township Walmart. The $20 Jackpot Scratch-Off yielded the top prize of $1 million.
Just a week later, again in Westmoreland County, a Match 6 Lotto ticket was sold at the North Huntingdon Sheetz, giving someone a $1.4 million prize.
One of the biggest jackpots of the year came earlier this month in Armstrong County, when one lucky player won $1 million for year for life.
That ticket was sold at a BP gas station on Buffalo Street in Freeport Borough. As a result, the BP got a $100,000 bonus.
Days after kids got into a major brawl in Downtown Pittsburgh, some school leaders are reacting, trying to get ahead of more potential activity this weekend.
Pittsburgh Public Schools left a voice message for families Tuesday night, informing them about a flyer circulating on social media of a “downtown takeover” on Friday.
“This event is not sanctioned, not supervised, and poses a serious safety concern for our students. We urge all families to discourage their children from attending,” part of Pittsburgh Public Schools’ message said.
The location is unclear, but it’s scheduled for less than one week after a large brawl at Market Square, a place Pittsburgh Public Safety said has become a hub for kids and teens to gather, and where a fight early Sunday evening resulted in seven minors cited for disorderly conduct, and around 20 treated for exposure to pepper spray.
Jen Grippo, owner of Original Oyster House, said they were closed at the time. However, Grippo said they remain in close contact with their neighboring businesses about any activity.
“It was certainly disappointing,” Grippo said.
Grippo said she and Kathy Marsico, the operations manager at Nicholas Coffee and Tea Co., were already aware of the potential event on Friday.
“It’s a crazy world right now,” Marsico said. “It’s a cultural, social, kind of environment where the kids are very, you know, just attracted to that type of behavior.”
Marsico said police are urging all shops that don’t have cameras to put them up and to provide them with access to assist in these situations. She also said they work with an outreach team called AIM.
“They’re trying to make sure that the kids act responsibly and don’t take part in those types of events,” Marsico said.
Between these efforts and the PPS voicemail, businesses are encouraged by the proactive measures, but do feel more long-term solutions are needed, something the Pittsburgh Public Safety director said is in the works, as police confirmed to KDKA they’re monitoring the potential gathering that’s days away.
“We just want to make sure that even if the kids do come Downtown, you’re being safe, you’re being respectful, and you’re not going to cause a ruckus,” Grippo said.
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