PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Not that other teams haven’t dealt with injuries, but it seemed to be a shock to first, hear of the news, and then for Pirates Director of Sports Medicine Todd Tomczyk say 20-year-old shortstop Konnor Griffin, coming off the game-winning hit Sunday, will miss 8-10 weeks with a finger injury.
“It’s a punch in the gut,” said Pirates manager Don Kelly. “Konnor is a huge part of the team.”
Griffin had just recently returned from a near month-long stint on the Injured List due to a flexor/elbow injury and had hits in seven of the eight games including multiple hits in half of them.
Once again, this team is dealing with losing a significant player as it fights to remain in the playoff race.
“We’ve got a lot of guys on the shelf right now with (Oneil) Cruz and Spencer (Horwitz),” Kelly said. “Konnor was down earlier, missing (Ryan) O’Hearn for a little bit – every team deals with them. We need to find a way to keep one. I think the things that stand out to me is the fight that this team has shown through any adversity, anything this whole year.”
“We are just picking each other up,” said infielder Nick Gonzales. “People have dealt with injuries, people have dealt with injuries over their career, whether it be small or major. You have to rely on your teammates to pick you up.”
Explaining what Konnor Griffin is dealing with now
“It’s a long season, you have to battle through.”
“I think it’s part of it,” said infielder Jared Triolo, who likely will get a run of reps at shortstop. “The game we play is a really long season and I think it’s impossible to go a full season with a healthy lineup. It’s good that we have depth. We will keep taking punches and roll with them.”
“I know that these guys are giving us everything that they have every single day and regardless of who it is – injury, adversity, ups and downs – just really proud of what we’ve been able to do from that standpoint,” Kelly said.
A game over .500 and three games out of a playoff spot with the Braves, Brewers, Guardians and Yankees next up, the Pirates are challenged again without another key bat and will have to dig deep again.
Don Kelly, players talk impact of Griffin injury
Don Kelly, players talk impact of Griffin injury
