Griffin back in lineup as DH, while dealing with minor forearm strain

PITTSBURGH -- Pirates shortstop Konnor Griffin has a low-grade flexor muscle strain in his right forearm, which was diagnosed after he underwent imaging. The 20-year-old is cleared to hit and was back in the lineup as the designated hitter for Friday's series opener against the Twins. But he is not cleared to throw, and he'll be reassessed early next week when the team is in Houston.

Griffin expressed concern on Wednesday that his elbow wasn’t fully recovering after the game, and he was held out of Thursday’s game as a precaution -- although he was available to pinch-run.

Griffin is batting .261 with a .716 OPS through 49 games in his highly anticipated rookie season. He became the youngest Pirates player since 1952 to bat leadoff on Tuesday. Pittsburgh called up infielder/outfielder Tyler Callihan on Thursday night to add infield depth.