PITTSBURGH -- Pirates shortstop Konnor Griffin was placed on the 10-day IL on Sunday with a minor flexor strain in his right forearm, general manager Ben Cherington announced prior to the Bucs' 9-3 win over the Twins. Ryan O'Hearn (right quad muscle strain) was activated from the IL as the corresponding move.
“We're not going to put a date on it or anything like that,” Cherington told reporters. “Based on the information we have now, and the progress he's made since this cropped up, we remain optimistic that he'll be back playing for us before too long, but obviously we'll be careful with it, and we need to listen to him, and we'll put him out there when he's ready to go out there.”
Sunday had been a target date to see how Griffin felt, per Cherington. If Griffin’s forearm had felt better and he was able to play shortstop Tuesday in Houston, he would have remained active. But with O’Hearn’s return, Pittsburgh didn’t want to clog the designated hitter spot and hope to give Griffin return to full strength. It is expected to be a short stint.
The 20-year-old expressed concern on Wednesday that his elbow wasn’t fully recovering after the game, and he was held out of the game on Thursday vs. the Cubs as a precaution -- though he was available to pinch-run. He served as the DH Friday and Saturday vs. the Twins, tallying two hits in Pittsburgh’s 10-9 win over Minnesota on Saturday.
It's possible Griffin returns before the Pirates' next homestand (June 9-14) but there’s not enough information to know for sure, according to Cherington.
Griffin has hit .270 with a .729 OPS, four homers and 14 stolen bases through 51 games in his highly anticipated rookie season, having rebounded from a slow start by posting a solid .306/.361/.459 mark in May. 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. The Pirates will have Jared Triolo playing shortstop and Nick Gonzales at third base with Callihan off the bench.
“He's so good; he's continuing to get better,” Pirates manager Don Kelly said of Griffin. “The at-bats that he's had -- he's continuing to get better at the plate, and I know that he is going to do everything he can to be back out there as soon as he can.”