The storyline that dominated spring training for the Pittsburgh Pirates was whether 19-year-old Konnor Griffin, the consensus top prospect in baseball, would be their starting shortstop on Opening Day.
When the Pirates opted to reassign Griffin to minor league camp on Saturday, it painted a clearer picture of who would be playing the infield when the season starts but did little to resolve who would start at short.
Pirates manager Don Kelly called it an “extremely difficult” decision to cut Griffin, who batted .171/.261/.488 but led the team with four home runs and tied for the lead with nine RBIs in 16 Grapefruit League games.
“You’re talking about a kid that came into big league camp playing shortstop for the first time,” Kelly told reporters Saturday in Bradenton, Fla. “The talent that you see, I think he handled himself really well professionally. We talk about the maturity level as a 19-year-old in big league camp. We’re really excited about him being a Pirate and what that means for the future of Konnor Griffin and the Pirates.”
As for the season opener at the New York Mets on Thursday, the starting shortstop job remains unresolved. The other roster moves made by the Pirates at least clarified who is in contention. Endy Rodriguez was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis and Kelly said that Rafael Flores is set to follow, leaving Henry Davis and Joey Bart as the catching duo. Tyler Callihan was optioned to Indianapolis, and Kelly announced that Alika Williams also would start the season in the minors.
The right side of the infield appears set. Spencer Horwitz will play first base, with outfielders Ryan O’Hearn and Billy Cook (a right-handed hitter) also possibilities at the position. Two-time All-Star Brandon Lowe, who had 31 home runs and 83 RBIs for the Tampa Bay Rays last season, is set to the be the starter at second base.
That leaves the left side of the infield to be determined. Only one thing is for certain: Kelly said that Jared Triolo is “going to be in that mix.”
“He’s elite over there,” Kelly said of Triolo, the National League Gold Glove utility winner in 2024 and a finalist in ’25. “He won a Gold Glove for a reason — being able to play all over the place — and he’s really well above average at a lot of different spots.”
Kelly admitted that he wasn’t sure what the starting lineup would look like. That’s because it’s complicated. Even though third base is Triolo’s natural position, multiple major league talent evaluators told TribLive that they believed Triolo was the Pirates’ best defensive shortstop this spring and suggested that they would be better served with Nick Gonzales or Nick Yorke at third base.
Where Triolo started 44 games at shortstop and 30 at third base last season, Gonzales started 84 at second base and 12 at short. Gonzales has played only 30 career games at shortstop and two at third base, so he viewed the transition to the left side of the infield as a “great challenge.”
“I enjoy going out there and playing short,” Gonzales said. “I’m ready to take on whatever they ask of me. I’ve played there last year and the year before, sporadically every year. It’s not something I’m not used to, so I’m ready for the challenge.”
The numbers show that Triolo is elite at third, where he had seven defensive runs saved last season and has a career 13 DRS in 1,096 2/3 innings over 128 games there the past three seasons. (Two-time Gold Glove winner Ke’Bryan Hayes had 16 DRS last year). Kelly called Triolo offering advice to Yorke, who added third base to his list of positions, “phenomenal to see.”
“Oh man, he’s unbelievable and I think he’s shown it for a couple years,” Kelly said of Triolo. “When he won the Gold Glove, what was really impressive — he didn’t have the best offensive season — to stay in the moment and play defense at the level that he did.”
As for Griffin, he’s likely to start the season at Indianapolis, news that Kelly said he handled like “a true pro.” It’s only a matter of time before Griffin makes his major league debut and forces the Pirates to shuffle their infield once again.
“You see a young kid that was maybe pressing just a little bit and trying really hard,” Kelly said. “Konnor Griffin the person is elite. Allowing him to go and get back to basics and being Konnor Griffin out there — we know that there’s an elite talent level that comes with him. Just looking forward to him being in Pittsburgh when that time comes.”