Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- The Pittsburgh Pirates secured a nine-year extension for Konnor Griffin, sparking excitement across MLB.
- Paul Skenes publicly praised Griffin, suggesting a bright future for the franchise, but also drawing attention from rival teams.
- Big-market teams see Skenes' comments as a potential signal, evaluating their chances to pursue the star pitcher when he hits free agency.
Paul Skenes was just as happy as anyone that Konnor Griffin signed a nine-year extension with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Skenes attended Griffin's press conference, and had nothing but rave reviews of his new teammate when asked by the media after the fact.
Skenes said that Griffin will be the face of the Pirates for a long time. That, of course, drew some immediate misinterpretations. Skenes is under contract through the end of the 2029 season. Griffin, after signing his nine-year extension, is under contract through 2034.
How the Konnor Griffin extension impacts Paul Skenes and the Pirates
We wrote about this when Griffin's extension was announced. In short, Griffin's extension doesn't do much to help the Pirates chances of keeping Skenes around. It should make the Pirates more competitive while Skenes is in Pittsburgh, but assuming he continues to rack up NL Cy Young awards and other accolades, the second he hits the free-agent market in 2030 he'll receive offers the Pirates simply cannot compete with.
Paul Skenes reacts to 19-year-old Konnor Griffin inking a 9-year, $140 million contract extension.
— Justin Guerriero (@GuerrieroTrib) April 8, 2026
“He’s going to be the face of the Pirates for a long time.” pic.twitter.com/wefHEFRpNz
That's why Skenes commemts on Wednesday received such a reception. By all accounts, Skenes is happy to be playing in Pittsburgh as of this writing, But the Pirates also missed their opportunity to extended him, which would've had to have happened before he ever made a big-league start. That's a risk the Pirates — and Skenes for that matter — didn't want to take.
Big-market MLB teams like the Dodgers, Mets and Yankees heard Skenes
Perhaps Skenes didn't mean to send out a bat signal to Queen, the Bronx and Los Angeles, but he did just that but annointing Griffin the face of the Pirates franchise over himself. That being said, not all of these potential suitors are created equally. There are perks to all three, which we'll dive into.
New York Yankees
The Yankees are an early frontrunner for Skenes should he reach free agency in 2030. It was just this past winter when a former Pirates teammate claimed Skenes told him that he'd love to play in the Bronx. It's unclear how much validity that statement has, but we wouldn't blame Skenes in the slightest for feeling that way. At the time, the Pirates had wasted another year of his prime, and Skenes won the NL Cy Young with a .500 record. Wins and losses don't mean much to a pitcher's individual stats, but they do showcase how a team performs in those starts. The Pirates haven't been a very good baseball team since Skenes was promoted. The same can't be said of the Yankees, who would provide far more run support if given the opportunity.
New York Mets
The Mets and Yankees often compete for top-tier talent on the free-agent market. In this case, Steve Cohen's best chance to add a player like Skenes could be via trade. The Mets have a strong farm system, and if they cannot extend Freddy Peralta, David Stearns will be tempted to use it to make a strong offer, either for Skenes or a pitcher who's actually available on the trade market. A more pressing matter for Pittsburgh is that Skenes will enter arbitration next year. He could easily receive record marks in a process meant to keep star players under contract at an affordable rate. If Skenes is set to receive, say, $30 million in 2027 or 2028, could the Pirates be tempted to move on?
Los Angeles Dodgers
Paul Skenes will not take a hometown discount anytime soon, but if playing closer to home sounds appealing to the right-handed ace, then he could be tempted to sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers aren't just Skenes' hometown team, though (he was born in Fullerton, CA), they're also the defending back-to-back World Series champions. Eventually, this Dodgers run will need a reboot of sorts, and what better way to do that than with one of the best young pitchers in baseball? Skenes will hit the free-agent market at 28 years old. Barring injury, he'll still have plenty of Cy Young-level pitching left in him. The Dodgers have the money to bring him home.