The Pirates will be without their standout rookie shortstop for at least the next two months. The club on Tuesday placed Konnor Griffin on the 10-day injured list with a torn tendon in the ring finger of his non-throwing hand. The injured finger will be in a splint for six weeks and, according to the team, he's expected to be sidelined between eight and 10 weeks.
The 20-year-old Griffin, whom CBS Sports ranked as the No. 3 overall prospect coming into the year, is enjoying a productive season to date:
He's also fared much better at the plate of late, and he hits the IL with an OPS+ of 101 and 20 stolen bases in 21 attempts. Griffin, the No. 9 overall pick of the 2024 Draft, was called up on April 3, and soon thereafter he agreed to a nine-year, $140 million contract extension that locks him up through at least the 2034 season.
Griffin thus far has played in 59 of the Pirates' 91 games, and that's thanks mostly to an elbow strain that cost him almost a month. Now, the finger injury will take out an even bigger chunk of his debut season, which makes it unlikely that Griffin will wind up contending for National League Rookie of the Year honors. At the midpoint, JJ Wetherholt of the Cardinals and Sal Stewart of the Reds are likely the favorites, with Bryce Eldridge of the Giants, TJ Rumfield of the Rockies, and Foster Griffin of the Nationals also in the mix.
As for the more important matter of the Pirates' contending hopes, the loss of Griffin strikes a blow against them. Going into Tuesday's slate, the Pirates are 46-45 and in fourth place in the NL Central. At the same time, they're just three games out of the third and final wild-card spot in the NL. SportsLine at present gives Pittsburgh a workable 38.3% chance of making the postseason, which they haven't done since 2015. The loss of Griffin for such an extended period of time, however, will no doubt lower those odds. Jared Triolo figures to get most of the time at short while Griffin is sidelined.
Moving forward, the Pirates have the fourth-toughest remaining schedule in MLB, as measured by opponents' average winning percentage.
