BRADENTON, Fla. -- Konnor Griffin was certainly impressive this spring, teasing with his tools and uncommon maturity.
But the Pirates, who’ve talked repeatedly about being mindful of Griffin’s development and doing what’s best for him long term, made the difficult decision to reassign the 19-year-old shortstop to Minor League camp following Saturday’s game against the Blue Jays.
Manager Don Kelly made the announcement in the media room at LECOM Park following Pittsburgh's 8-3 victory.
The move follows what has been a cooler stretch for Griffin, who homered three times in his first six Grapefruit League contests. Yet over his past 10, Griffin batted just .148 (4-for-27) with one home run, two walks and 11 strikeouts.
Overall, Griffin finishes his Grapefruit League campaign hitting .171 with a .749 OPS in 16 games.
"Absolutely nothing he did wrong," Kelly said. "You see a young kid who was maybe pressing just a little bit and trying really hard. Konnor Griffin the person is elite. Allowing him to go and get back to basics and being Konnor Griffin out there.
"We know there’s an elite talent level that comes with him. Just looking forward to him being in Pittsburgh whenever that time comes."
Saturday’s decision was certainly not an easy one, due to the considerable upside the best prospect in the sport has shown. Prior to Saturday, Griffin had been tied for the team lead in home runs (4) and RBIs (9) while also displaying plus speed and solid defense.
The decision should alleviate some pressure on Griffin, who’s attracted attention with every move this spring. It’s also not binding. Conversations about a long-term extension have occurred, and the door remains open for more.
Sending Griffin to Triple-A, along with optioning Tyler Callihan earlier Saturday, pares the Pirates’ 40-man roster to three players who’ve spent time on the left side of the infield: Jared Triolo, Nick Gonzales and Nick Yorke.
Alika Williams would offer defensive value at multiple spots and showed an improved bat in Grapefruit League play, but he has been reassigned to Minor League camp.
Triolo had a solid spring, hitting .270 with a .719 OPS, and he plays the best defense of any of those three. Gonzales has been one of the Pirates’ better hitters during Grapefruit League play (.357), though he’s never played shortstop with much regularity in MLB.
Yorke has been a pleasant surprise for the Pirates, hitting .250 in a team-high 44 at-bats, with a triple, a home run and four RBIs.
If no other moves were made, at least based on experience, it would seemingly be Triolo and Gonzales in some capacity, plus Yorke in a bench role.
The Griffin decision was not one the Pirates took lightly, giving him the third-most at-bats of anyone to experience big league camp. However, general manager Ben Cherington and Kelly have said the Pirates want to prioritize his development over anything.
Though he shot through the system last year, Griffin has just 98 plate appearances at Double-A and has not yet played at Triple-A.
“Extremely difficult,” Kelly said of the decision. “When you’re talking about a kid who came into big league camp playing shortstop for the first time ... the talent that you see, I think he handled himself really well, professionally.
"We've talked about the maturity level as a 19-year-old in big league camp. Really excited about him being a Pirate and what that means for the future of Konnor Griffin and the Pirates."
Griffin wasn't the Pirates' only move on Saturday. They also optioned Jhostynxon Garcia and Callihan to Triple-A.
Pittsburgh acquired Garcia in a trade with the Red Sox for Johan Oviedo on Dec. 4, 2025, adding a player who was considered a top-100 prospect (MLB Pipeline No. 85) at the time.
Garcia led all Pirates with 15 hits this spring, resulting in a .405 average and 1.058 OPS. The problem is outfield reps. They’ve allocated spots to Bryan Reynolds, Oneil Cruz and Ryan O’Hearn, while Jake Mangum will have a regular role as an often-used fourth outfielder, including as a late-inning defensive replacement.
It’s important that Garcia continues to appear in games and receive regular playing time, something that would not be possible with the Major League club.
Spending the majority of 2025 in the Minors, Garcia hit .256 with 17 doubles, four triples, 21 home runs, 75 RBIs and an .810 OPS in 114 games split between Double-A and Triple-A. Garcia led all Red Sox Minor Leaguers in home runs, total bases (204) and runs (79).
The same as Garcia -- who went 1-for-7 in five games with Boston in 2025 -- Callihan made his MLB debut with the Reds in 2025.
The Pirates acquired Callihan in a trade for Kyle Nicolas on March 4, adding a player who was Cincinnati’s No. 19 prospect at the time.
Callihan played mostly second base and third base while hitting .211 with a .716 OPS in 19 at-bats spread over nine games.
After the Pirates’ March 18 game against the Tigers, Callihan talked about making some minor tweaks to his swing and feeling that it was in a good place after homering and finishing with two hits. Now, Callihan will look to continue that progress with Triple-A Indianapolis.
The 25-year-old made his MLB debut with the Reds last season, going 1-for-6 in four games before running into an outfield wall and breaking his left forearm, a gruesome injury that required three surgeries.
Jason Mackey: Jason.Mackey@pirates.com and @JMackey_PGH.