What began as a promising rookie season for baseball’s No. 1 prospect has taken another turn for the worse.
Pirates star shortstop Konnor Griffin is going to be out for likely the next two months with a torn tendon in his left ring finger, according to multiple reports.
Pirates Director of Sports Medicine Tom Tomczyk told the media that Griffin’s finger will be in a splint for six weeks.
Griffin’s estimated return is in 8-10 weeks, lining him up to miss considerable time in the Pirates’ race to the playoffs.
Griffin suffered the injury against the Washington Nationals on Sunday in our nation’s capital. Griffin made two diving catches into shallow left field for highlight-reel plays, but appeared to injure his left hand on one of the plays.
He was seen in the dugout getting his fingers checked out by the training staff. Griffin also appeared to be stepped on by Nationals shortstop CJ Abrams while stealing second base in the fourth inning and could be a contributing reason for the injury, which feels like a snowball effect of multiple causes.
It’s a crushing blow for the 20-year-old face-of-the-franchise, who just returned from an elbow injury that kept him out a month.
Griffin hit .306 in eight starts back off the IL with four multi-hit games and the game-winning hit on Sunday.
In 59 games during his rookie year, Griffin is slashing .276/.332/.404 with 10 doubles, two triples, five home runs, and 25 RBIs. Griffin homered in his first at-bat against the Reds on June 26.
Already missing center fielder Oneil Cruz and first baseman Spencer Horwitz until after the All-Star break, the Pirates will need to survive another injury to an impactful player for their offense and defense.
Pittsburgh hosts the Braves and Brewers to close the unofficial first half of the season. The Pirates are 46-45 and three games back of the Marlins for the final wild card spot. Buckle up, everyone.
