PITTSBURGH — Konnor Griffin served as the designated hitter for the Pittsburgh Pirates in both games of their series against the Minnesota Twins on May 29 and 30 at PNC Park. The move came as he recovers from a low-grade muscle strain to one of the flexors in his forearm, an injury that has prevented him from throwing but has not restricted his ability to hit.
Griffin, who had appeared in 49 games at shortstop to begin his career with the Pirates, was out of the starting lineup on May 23 against the Chicago Cubs but was available as a pinch-runner in the series finale on May 28. He returned to the lineup exclusively as a DH for the Twins series, going 4 for 9 with a double, an RBI, a run scored, and two stolen bases across the two games.
"It’s been good," he said of his temporary role. "Really focusing on what I’m doing at the plate and getting to get off my feet a little bit. Watch the game and just focus on hitting." While not playing defense, he has been reviewing scouting reports and studying his own at-bats. "Just watching reports on guys that might come in and checking out different [at-bats] that I have. Trying to move around a little bit to stay as warm as I can."
He expressed optimism about his recovery timeline. "I feel good that it should be sooner than later," he told Pittsburgh Baseball Now. "I don’t know if I’m playing tomorrow, but I’ll try and be back out there on Tuesday." The expectation is that he will be evaluated by the Pirates medical staff on Sunday to determine if he can resume throwing and return to defensive duties. "I’m just trying to take it as a positive thing to give me some rest before getting ready to continue to finish out the year," he said.