This week's mailbag gets into extension possibilities, realignment problems, whether a Ketel Marte trade makes sense, Reid Detmers' future, and much more.
Greg asks:
With a good spring is there a possibility of the Pirates signing Konnor Griffin long-term and starting him on Day 1?
In Baseball America's August update, shortstop Konnor Griffin was ranked as the top prospect in all of baseball. BA wrote, "Griffin has taken off like a meteor this season and his penchant for impact hasn’t slowed down even despite a promotion to High-A. The 19-year-old has made significant strides in allaying concerns about his hit tool and approach, and the rest of his overall game has evaluators buzzing as they envision how his plus power, speed and at least above-average defense at two different positions could come together."
Griffin has mostly played shortstop this year, with the occasional start in center field. He posted a 156 wRC+ in A ball and got even better in High-A with a 169 mark. Though he doesn't turn 20 until next April, Griffin got another promotion to Double-A this past weekend.
Given that Griffin has played one game in Double-A and the Altoona Curve only have 23 more on the schedule, putting him on the Pirates' Opening Day roster next year at age 19 would be aggressive, perhaps to the point of being detrimental. Even Jackson Chourio played 122 games at Double-A and had a brief taste of Triple-A. But let's explore the likelihood of an extension.

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