Pirates Explain Confusing Konnor Griffin Injury Decision
In this story:
PITTSBURGH — Konnor Griffin is getting closer to returning from injury for the Pittsburgh Pirates, but some fans wondered why he couldn't at least do other parts of his game.
The Pirates placed Griffin on the 10-day injured list back on May 31 with a right arm flexor strain, which prevented him from performing fielding duties at shortstop and required him to undertake rehab to slowly build his arm back to full health.
Griffin started at designated hitter in his last two games vs. the Minnesota Twins at PNC Park, May 29-30, while also having pinch-runner availability, before going on the injured list.
He will begin a rehab assignment with Double-A Altoona on June 24, marking his first time playing shortstop in more than a month and game time in the same time, with the Pirates giving their reasons for not having him hit or run this month.
Pirates Looking to Avoid Further Injury to Griffin
Pirates senior director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk reiterated that when they brought Griffin to Dr. Keith Meister in Dallas, who specializes in arm injuries, that Griffin was cleared to hit, but that they wanted to make sure he didn't suffer further injuries.
Much of Tomczyk's and the medical staff's concern was what could happen to Griffin on a certain swing or if he slides head first, which he does consistently at home plate with his blistering sprints around the bases, for as to why they wanted Griffin not playing with the Pirates at this time.
“So everything we’ve learned from our team physicians, from Dr. Meister, second opinion, he was cleared to hit," Tomczyk said. "So that decision was out of an abundance of precaution to both long and short-term for Konnor.
“If you think about the biomechanics of hitting, it would be more concern swinging-and-missing. Not so much on contact that he would continue to put stress and strain on that area, but it would be more the swing and missing, which I don’t believe Konnor does all that often, I’m not a baseball expert.
“The other concern would be running the bases, when he would have to dive head first, if he was going to put the elbow in a provocative maneuver that would cause stress on that forearm.”
Don Kelly Wants Griffin Back At Shortstop
Pirates manager Don Kelly knows the value that Griffin brings to the team, even as just a 20-year old rookie.
Griffin took over as starting shortstop in his MLB debut on April 3 and signed his massive contract extension just five days later, making him the future star of the franchise.
Kelly recognizes how much better Griffin has gotten from the plate and the speed he possesses, but the Pirates skipper wants his shortstop playing in the field and becoming the Gold Glove Award winner that he has the potential to become, without risking further damage to his arm.
"With Konnor with the arm, any time you swing, you're still using the arm, especially batting right-handed and throwing right-handed," Kelly said. "It might not be exactly the same as throwing.
"The last thing you want to do is have something funky happen in a swing that ends up affecting the arm in a way. I remember when (former Pirates catcher) Don Slaught would talk about hitting, he'd talk about it's like skipping a rock which is the same thing as throwing.
"Maybe not 1:1 as far as throwing and now with him progressing back, the best thing for Konnor is going on a rehab assignment to make sure that the shortstop defense is at a point where he feels really comfortable.
"We can go through practice all we want of relay throws and doing what we need to do, challenging ourselves and all, until somebody hits it and they're running down the line in the ninth inning and you have to get on it and throw 93-94 [mph] across the infield. That's the challenge and the test that we're looking for him to get back to."
Add us as a preferred source on Google
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.