Paul Skenes sees Konnor Griffin as the face of the Pirates for the long term

Paul Skenes is the face of the Pirates. No one doubts that.

But if you ask the man himself what he thinks about it, it's clear that, in the long run, he sees Konnor Griffin as the face of the Pennsylvania franchise.

Paul Skenes reacts to Konnor Griffin's record-breaking nine-year extension with the Pirates 🏴‍☠️ pic.twitter.com/IqaQLD9L43

— B/R Walk-Off (@BRWalkoff) April 8, 2026

There are two ways to look at this. The first is to think that Skenes is a humble guy who doesn't exactly like being in the spotlight and wants to build his teammate's confidence.

There's certainly a lot of that in his statement.

But of course, it's also easy to think that Skenes didn't sign a nine-year contract himself. And the closer he gets to free agency (after the 2029 season), the stronger the rumors surrounding his eventual departure will become.

In reality, everyone knows the Pirates won't be able to keep him. It's already too late, since the price tag would be too high.

But even though I believe Skenes will leave one day, I don't think he gave any hint of that by singing Griffin's praises. I simply think he wanted to give him some credit.

After all, Skenes isn't the type to play games with the media. He might crack a joke here and there, but more often than not, he's serious and just wants to focus on baseball.

Paul Skenes is funny. pic.twitter.com/2oEgCnredv

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) April 8, 2026

For now, all Pirates fans can do is enjoy the fact that the franchise has a bit of momentum and hope that 2026 will be a great season.

Because at any moment, it could all come to an end.

Created by humans, assisted by AI.