What MLB executives and agents are saying about PCA, Konnor Griffin and more extensions
At various points during the MLB offseason, and especially during free agency, extension talks are often held between players and teams. Some deals ultimately get done. Some conversations lead to future agreements. Other times talks lead nowhere and the player goes year to year until becoming a free agent. But there figures to be a wide variety of baseball’s best young players who could have new deals either this spring or within the next 12-18 months.
Here are five players that make sense as contract extension candidates, with contract comparisons for each player after talking to numerous league sources.
Pete Crow-Armstrong, Chicago Cubs
On Foul Territory, Pete Crow-Armstrong said there have been and will continue to be contract extension talks with the Chicago Cubs. He cautioned that the two sides are in no rush, saying: “I’d like to keep it that way because I’m going to go out and play regardless. There’s bigger fish to fry than me being paid.”
There are multiple ways that Crow-Armstrong can go about a potential extension. If he wants to be with the Cubs for the remainder of his career, one rival agent opined he could go for contracts similar to Bobby Witt Jr., Fernando Tatis Jr. or Julio Rodriguez. If he wants to sign an extension that would give him another bite of the apple in free agency, an extension similar to recent deals for Corbin Carroll or Roman Anthony would be natural comparisons.
Konnor Griffin, Pittsburgh Pirates
Konnor Griffin is the talk of baseball. Ask anyone around the game and the words “superstar,” “stud” and everything in between have been said about the 19-year-old phenom.
Griffin and the Pirates are open to an extension, as first reported by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. There are different ways for both sides to explore an extension, with Jackson Chourio’s eight-year, $82 million serving as the highest guarantee for a player who hasn’t debuted. Other comparisons, a rival scout opined, include Corbin Carroll and Roman Anthony’s extensions. But Griffin, if he does sign an extension, is in a prominent position to still reach free agency in his 20s and have a chance at a mega contract on the open market.
Nick Kurtz, A’s
After extending Jacob Wilson and Tyler Soderstrom this offseason, the A’s have turned their attention to Nick Kurtz. They have made an extension offer to the young superstar, as first reported by Joel Sherman of the New York Post, though it’s unclear what the likelihood of an extension is.
Kurtz, 22, won the American League Rookie of the Year in a landslide last season. In 117 games last season, he hit .290/.383/.619 with a 1.002 OPS, 36 home runs and 86 RBI. If he builds off the season like the A’s and rest of baseball believe he will, Kurtz could very well find himself in the MVP conversation this season.
“Kurtz is 22 with a year of service,” one agent opined. “He has five more years until free agency. He would be a 28-year-old free agent. They’d have to do a monster deal, IMO. No way you let the rookie of the year give away ages 29, 30, 31 for cheap. I would say if it’s not a 10 year deal, kick rocks.”
Said another agent: “If he waits, he could get a Juan Soto type deal.”
Hunter Brown, Houston Astros
In the spring of 2024, the Houston Astros offered a contract extension to right-hander Hunter Brown. He countered and “it never went anywhere,” league sources say.
Since then, Brown has switched representation to Scott Boras and is now one of the most promising young pitchers in baseball. At 27, he’s coming off a season in which he recorded a 2.43 ERA and 206 strikeouts in 31 starts while posting a 3.49 ERA in 100 career games. An extension feels highly unlikely, given that Boras prefers his players to establish their values on the open market rather than taking extensions.
“There’s no way Hunter Brown does an extension,” one agent opined. “Jose Berrios signed for seven years, $131 million with four years of service. Boras would laugh at that.”
Junior Caminero, Tampa Bay Rays
An extension for Caminero, at least right now, feels very unlikely. At 22, the former top prospect in baseball has underscored why the Rays, and the rest of the industry, was so high on him coming through the Rays’ system.
In 154 games last season, Caminero hit .264/.311/.535 with 45 home runs and 110 RBI and emerged as their definitive face of the franchise.
Wander Franco received a $182 million extension from the Rays in November 2021 while Julio Rodriguez received a 12-year, $210 million extension with the Seattle Mariners in August 2022. Both deals were done before Shohei Ohtani, Juan Soto, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Kyle Tucker signed their lucrative contracts, leading multiple league sources to believe that Caminero’s eventual extension would likely start at roughly $400 million.
