The Pirates are placing shortstop Konnor Griffin on the 10-day injured list, according to Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Per Jason Mackey of MLB.com, Griffin has a flexor tendon strain and he’s expected to miss only a short time. Ryan O’Hearn is being activated off the injured list in his place.
Griffin was a Top-100 prospect entering 2026 and signed a nine-year, $140MM extension with Pittsburgh just a few days after making his debut. The 20-year-old’s numbers don’t leap off the page, but Griffin has more than held his own against big league pitching. In 208 plate appearances, he’s batted .270/.327/.402 with 14 stolen bases and a 104 wRC+. The latter figure is middle-of-the-pack among qualified shortstops, although there’s room for Griffin to cut back on his 26.9% strikeout rate.
Early reviews on Griffin’s defense have been mixed. On the one hand, he’s been worth 3 Defensive Runs Saved and boasts 78th percentile arm strength according to Statcast. At the same time, Griffin’s been worth -4 Outs Above Average and is in the 15th percentile of Statcast’s Fielding Run Value metric. Defensive metrics are always tricky, and obviously there’s room to improve when the player in question is as young as Griffin. For now, the team can be happy that he is finding his footing in the Majors.
While Griffin is on the shelf, the Pirates will need a temporary replacement at shortstop. Jared Triolo is the next man up, but he’s struggled badly in 83 plate appearances as a backup infielder. Since the start of 2024, Triolo has a 76 wRC+ in just over 900 plate appearances. He also doesn’t fare well defensively at shortstop, with -6 DRS and -3 OAA in over 500 innings there. Triolo is a better fit at third base or second, where has 14 and 10 career DRS, respectively.
Tyler Callihan is the other backup infielder, but he’s barely played in the Majors and has played exactly zero professional innings at shortstop. Nick Gonzales has 254 innings of experience at short, but he currently occupies the hot corner, so moving him to short would create another problem. Nick Yorke and Jack Brannigan are on the 40-man roster. Yorke has a 64 wRC+ in the Majors, while Brannigan is only at Double-A and is striking out 37.5% of the time.
Given those options, the likeliest outcome is that the Pirates roll with Triolo at short for now and simply hope for a minimal absence for Griffin. The team’s 106 wRC+ is tied for seventh in the Majors. Brandon Lowe, Spencer Horwitz, and Bryan Reynolds all have a wRC+ over 140, and Oneil Cruz is no slouch at 120. Griffin and Gonzales are both hovering around league average.
O’Hearn belongs in the first group as a key contributor to the Pirates’ success on offense. The 32-year-old, who signed a two-year, $29MM pact over the offseason, returns after a two-week absence for a right quad muscle strain. In 182 plate appearances prior to his injury, O’Hearn was batting .289/.368/.459 with a 132 wRC+. The latter mark is fourth-best among Pirates hitters with at least 150 plate appearances, while O’Hearn’s overall output nearly matches last year, when he was worth 3.0 fWAR between the Orioles and Padres. Although a few weeks of Triolo as the starting shortstop won’t be ideal, O’Hearn’s return and the abundance of talented hitters leave the Pirates in a good position while Griffin is out.
Photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire, Imagn Images
