The Pirates announced that infielder Konnor Griffin has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list. In a corresponding move, catcher Christian Bethancourt has been designated for assignment. The Bucs also made a swap on the pitching side of the roster, recalling right-hander Isaac Mattson and optioning left-hander Brandon Eisert. Alex Stumpf of Book-Rule Bucs was among those to relay the moves.
Griffin has been on the shelf for two months due to a torn tendon in the ring finger of his left hand. That was one of a series of injuries that seemingly set the Pirates off course. Through the end of May, they were 32-28. At the end of May, Griffin hit the IL due to an elbow strain. While he was out, Oneil Cruz and Spencer Horwitz joined him on the IL. Griffin was reinstated late in June but then the finger issue popped up early in July. Endy Rodríguez and Rafael Flores also hit the IL that month and then Ryan O’Hearn was shelved in August.
Some of those guys have made it back but the injuries have clearly hampered the Pirates. They are now 69-72 and five games back of a playoff spot. They still have a shot but would need to leapfrog four teams in the next three-plus weeks to get into the postseason.
Griffin will try to do his part. He is currently sitting on a .276/.332/.404 line and 101 wRC+, with that being propped up by a .363 batting average on balls in play. Since he came into the season as the top prospect in baseball and signed a huge extension, perhaps fans expected more, but it’s worth remembering that Griffin only turned 20 in April. A lot of guys his age aren’t even drafted at that age, let alone putting up average-ish numbers in the big leagues. Presumably, Griffin will retake the regular shortstop job for the final few weeks of the season. Jared Triolo has been holding that job of late and might now get bumped into a utility role.
Bethancourt, 35, was just added to the 40-man roster on September 1 when active rosters expanded from 26 to 28. That gave the Bucs a third catcher alongside Flores and Henry Davis. To accommodate Griffin, they will bump Bethancourt off the roster and go back to a two-catcher setup.
Since the trade deadline has passed, Bethancourt will have to be placed on waivers. Bethancourt is out of options and would need to be added to the active roster of any claiming team. He’s a journeyman veteran with a .229/.259/.362 batting line in his career and middling defense on the whole, despite having a rocket for an arm. If he were to clear waivers, he would have the right to elect free agency.
Photo courtesy of Eric Hartline, Imagn Images
