The Seattle Mariners got their deal with Emerson done first, and then the Pittsburgh Pirates and Detroit Tigers struck deals with their young stars as well.
On March 31, the Seattle Mariners signed top prospect Colt Emerson to an eight-year contract extension worth $95 million. There is a ninth-year option in there, as well as some escalators, that can take the contract well above $100 million.
Shortly after that, the Pittsburgh Pirates signed top prospect Konnor Griffin to a nine-year deal worth $140 million. On Wednesday, the Detroit Tigers signed Kevin McGonigle, who made the roster out of spring training, to an eight-year deal worth $150 million.
With each deal that gets signed subsequently, the Mariners look smarter for signing Emerson early, however, comparing deals at this point is an inexact science. For starters, the early contract money is relatively similar among all three deals. It's the later year money that is different, and we won't be able to judge the value on those years until these players get older and more established.
As noted by Daniel Kramer of MLB.com, the Emerson contract breaks down like this:
Colt Emerson contract breakdown, per sources...
Signing bonus: $8M
2026: $1M
2027: $2M
2028: $9M
2029-2033: Ranges from $12-18M per year
Key takeaway: $20M total between his service time window of 0-3 years and $15M AAV for the final five years of the deal.
So, clearly, Emerson is getting more than the league minimum for his first three years. The league minimum under the current collective bargaining agreement is just under $800,000 per year. From a payroll perspective, the $2 million in 2027 and $9 million in 2027 don't really affect the Mariners. While Cal Raleigh, Julio Rodriguez and Josh Naylor will continue to make more money on their long-term deals, the Mariners will see Randy Arozarena's and J.P. Crawford's deals come off the books after 2026, helping re-balance the accounting.
How about Griffin's deal?
As reported by Spotrac, Griffin is going to make $2.3 million in 2026, $3.3 million in 2027, $5.3 million in 2028 and $7.3 million in 2029. Then, he'll make $13.8 million, $22.3 million, $27.8 million and $28.8 million (x2).
And how about McGonigle?
Per Cody Stavenhagen, who covers the Tigers:
Kevin McGonigle is set to earn the following:
2027: $1 million
2028: $7 million
2029: $16 million
2030: $21 million
2031: $22 million
2032-34: $23 million
Escalators could increase his 2032 salary to $25M, his 2033 salary to $26M and his 2034 salary to $28M.
Other teams clearly stack money differently depending on their future commitments. For the Mariners, it was clearly advantageous to pay Emerson more later, once the Arozarena and Crawford deals are off the payroll. Rob Refsynder ($6.25 million) is also a free agent after the 2026 campaign.
But again, we won't be able to judge the later year values until these players all grow and mature.
Emerson is expected to make his major league debut in 2026, but it's unclear when. Recently, Jerry Dipoto said he was "as close as they come."
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