PITTSBURGH -- Pirates shortstop Konnor Griffin will begin a rehab assignment at Double-A Altoona on Wednesday. Griffin was placed on the injured list on May 31 with a right forearm strain.
MLB's former No. 1 prospect initially revealed discomfort in his forearm in late May. He served as the designated hitter for two games before landing on the 10-day IL.
Griffin was cleared to hit during his rehab after Dr. Keith Meister suggested the 20-year-old take a two-week break from throwing. Griffin returned to throwing at 90 feet on June 10 and extended to 150 feet with no pain while rehabbing at the Pirates' Spring Training facility in Bradenton, Fla. At Pirate City, Griffin practiced throwing at different angles to maintain necessary throws from the shortstop position, per athletic trainer Todd Tomczyk.
“With him progressing back, the best thing for Konnor is going on a rehab assignment to make sure that the shortstop defense is at a point that he feels really comfortable," Pittsburgh manager Don Kelly said. "We can go through practice all we want of relay throws and doing everything that we need to do, challenging ourselves in the hole, until if somebody hits it, and they're running down the line in the ninth inning."
There’s no exact timeline for Griffin’s return to the Pirates, though a rehab assignment in nearby Altoona is a welcome sign.
“That's more of a baseball decision,” Tomczyk said. “And that'll be between the performance team, Donny, the hitting group and [general manager] Ben [Cherington] in the front office.”
Griffin is hitting .270 with a .729 OPS, four homers and 14 stolen bases through 51 games in his rookie season, rebounding from a slow start with a .306/.361/.459 slash line in May. Jared Triolo has filled in at shortstop in Griffin's absence.