Pirates GM Addresses Konnor Griffin Plan
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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates have the consensus top prospect in baseball in shortstop Konnor Griffin, who is pushing for a spot on the Opening Day roster.
Griffin has made seven starts in Spring Training for the Pirates, six in the Grapefruit League, and has shown great power, with three home runs, plus some great defensive work at shortstop, where he'll serve as the future starter at the position for the franchise.
Pirates general manager Ben Cherington spoke to the media about Griffin and what they want to do with him going forward.
Cherington said they knew they'd see the talent on display from Griffin, but that they want to make the right decision on him and how he can help the Pirates the best in 2026.
"He's been impressive, as we anticipated he would be," Cherington said in a video from DK Pittsburgh Sports. Knowing Konnor, the physical skills and who he is as a person, anticipated that he would do good things in spring training and he has.
"We believe that we have a responsibility as an organization with Konnor. He's got a chance to have a really, really good, long career, and it's our job to do everything we can to support him in being in the best spot possible to do that.
"Obviously, we want to try to marry that up with him helping the Pirates win as many games as possible, too. So that will continue to guide us.
"We're reminded all the time about, you know, spring training versus the entire body of work. Believe that spring training is a tiny slice of information of the entire body of work, and that we owe it to players to look at the entire body of work and in Konnor's case, there's 100 plate appearances above High-A, so that's important information, too. So, we'll see where this goes, but our job will be to put him in a position to have the longest, best career possible."
How Spring Training Performances Affect Pirates' Decision on Griffin
Griffin has slashed .200/.273/.650 for an OPS of .923 in eight Grapefruit League games, with four hits in 20 at-bats and no walks to four strikeouts.
He does have three home runs with six RBI and could've had more, as he has hit the ball incredibly well with high velocity. He also had a 397 foot hit ball that fell just short of a home run in his first game vs. the Philadelphia Phillies back on Feb. 22.
Griffin hit two home runs vs. the Boston Red Sox at JetBlue Park at Fenway South on Feb. 24, one against All-Star left-handed pitcher Ranger Suarez, and then his other home run coming against the St. Louis Cardinals back at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium in Jupiter, Fla. on March 1.
He is the first teenager to have three home runs in a Spring Training session in 20 years, showing his impressive development at such a young age.
Griffin would become just the fifth teenage position player in the past 20 years to make the Opening Day Roster, according to Baseball America, alongside the likes of Justin Upton, Mike Trout, Bryce Harper, Jurickson Profar and Juan Soto, who did it most recently in 2018.
He's only had one professional season in 2025 and just 122 games, with 21 of those at Double-A, so the Pirates may decide to keep him in the minors to start this season before bringing him up later.
Cherington didn't say whether or not that Griffin would stick with Major League Camp the entire time, but that they can't only look at Spring Training stats only, as they "can be deceiving."
"Take it a day at a time," Cherington said. "As we get a little bit deeper into March here, we will start to make decisions as we get closer and start to get organized, like the roster, and just continue to take that a day at a time."
Dominic writes for Pittsburgh Pirates On SI, Pittsburgh Panthers Pn SI and also, Pittsburgh Steelers On SI. A Pittsburgh native, Dominic grew up watching Pittsburgh Sports and wrote for The Pitt News as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, covering Pitt Athletics. He would write for Pittsburgh Sports Now after college and has years of experience covering sports across Pittsburgh.