![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/olney_buster.png&h=80&w=80&scale=crop.png\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Buster OlneyApr 1, 2026, 01:40 PM ET<\/p>\n
Close<\/a>Senior writer ESPN Magazine\/ESPN.com Multiple Authors<\/p>\n The Pittsburgh Pirates<\/a> are deep into negotiations with top prospect Konnor Griffin<\/a>, sources told ESPN, with the two sides making their respective cases over what an appropriate deal would be for the 19-year-old shortstop.<\/p>\n The two sides have been talking since early in spring training, sources told ESPN, and the Pirates’ proposals are closer in range to the eight-year, $111 million deal that Corbin Carroll<\/a> signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks<\/a> in the spring of 2023. Griffin’s side, however, has been angling for something closer to Roman Anthony<\/a>‘s eight-year, $130 million deal that was forged with the Boston Red Sox<\/a> last August, sources told ESPN.<\/p>\n Editor’s Picks<\/p>\n 2 Related<\/p>\n Griffin, who turns 20 later this month, was the No. 9 overall pick in the 2024 draft and is ESPN’s No. 1 prospect for 2026<\/a>. Playing in the minors last year, the 6-foot-3, 222-pound shortstop batted .333, with a .941 OPS. He had some impressive moments in spring training this year, clubbing four homers in 16 games, fueling speculation that the Pirates might keep him in the big leagues.<\/p>\n Pittsburgh, however, sent him to Triple-A Indianapolis<\/a>, where he has six hits in his first 13 at-bats.<\/p>\n With star pitcher Paul Skenes<\/a> heading their rotation, Pittsburgh is perceived to be in a possible window to win right now. During the course of the winter, the Pirates added to their offense, trading for Brandon Lowe<\/a> and signing free agents Ryan O’Hearn<\/a> and Marcell Ozuna<\/a>.<\/p>\n PlayerTeamYrs\/BaseMaxColt EmersonSEA8\/$95M$130MJackson ChourioMIL8\/$82M$140MCooper PrattMIL8\/$50.75MTBDLuis Robert Jr.CWS6\/$50M$88MEloy JimenezCWS6\/$43M$78M– Spotrac<\/p>\n Signing Griffin to a long-term deal would likely be regarded as a sign of good faith by the Pirates’ fan base, which has been frustrated by the team’s low payrolls and competitive struggles over the last decade.<\/p>\n There is typically a rash of young player signings around Opening Day. This week, the Mariners<\/a> reached an eight-year, $95 million deal<\/a> with star prospect Colt Emerson<\/a>, who is expected to be promoted to the big leagues soon, and the Brewers<\/a> signed minor league prospect Cooper Pratt<\/a> to an eight-year, $50.75 million contract.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Buster OlneyApr 1, 2026, 01:40 PM ET CloseSenior writer ESPN Magazine\/ESPN.com Analyst\/reporter ESPN television Author of “The Last…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":558747,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[363,99],"class_list":{"0":"post-558746","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mlb","8":"tag-mlb","9":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/558746","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=558746"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/558746\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/558747"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=558746"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=558746"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=558746"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nAnalyst\/reporter ESPN television
\nAuthor of “The Last Night of the Yankee Dynasty”<\/p>\n