When the Pittsburgh Pirates leave for their road trip against the Athletics in Sacramento and the Colorado Rockies, rookie shortstop Konnor Griffin will head in a different direction.
Griffin, out with a right forearm muscle strain, will go to Pirate City in Bradenton, Fla., to begin what Pirates general manager Ben Cherington called a “legitimate throwing progression” that will require a stay at their minor league complex followed by a rehabilitation assignment.
Cherington said Sunday during a guest appearance on radio flagship 93.7 The Fan that Griffin continued to field ground balls, run the bases and take batting practice while being sidelined.
“It’s a good sign that he is throwing,” Cherington said. “He was able to do all the other baseball activity really the whole time. Throwing was obviously going to be the last thing to come. We wanted to make sure he was 100% asymptomatic before he started the throwing progression. We kind of got through that hurdle. Now he’s into that throwing progression.”
Griffin hasn’t played shortstop since May 27 and was placed on the 10-day injured list since May 31. He was eligible to be activated Wednesday but, after seeking a second opinion from orthopedic surgeon Dr. Keith Meister, Griffin was told to take two weeks off from throwing. He resumed throwing on Tuesday, tossing up to 90 feet at 75% effort.
“With this particular issue that he’s coming off of, we want to make sure it’s a legitimate throwing progression. This is not going to be a two- or three-day thing,” Cherington said. “He’ll continue to build up volume and distance. At some point, assuming that goes well, he’ll probably hit a rehab assignment of some kind. We don’t have a specific date for that yet. The fact that he’s in his throwing progression means that, hopefully, that’s not coming too long.”
Cherington also confirmed a TribLive report from earlier this week that center fielder Oneil Cruz is expected to be out four to six weeks with fractures in the fourth and fifth metacarpal in his left hand, an injury suffered while being tagged on his slide into home plate against the Atlanta Braves on June 6.
“That’s the rough timeline that I’ve been given,” Cherington said. “Knowing Oneil, he will play through pain. I’m confident in saying that. He has done that a lot. If and when he feels he can get back out there, he’s going to do it. Obviously, with the hand, given how important hands are to a hitter, we want to make sure that we’re taking care of this thing so he can be a threat for the rest of the season.”
Cherington was optimistic that rookie right-handed bulk reliever Wilber Dotel’s stay on the 15-day IL Saturday with a lat strain will be “on the shorter side.” After giving up five earned runs on five hits and one walk without recording an out in the seventh inning of a 12-3 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday, Dotel allowed four runs on four hits and three walks in 1 2/3 innings in Friday’s 8-3 loss to the Miami Marlins.
“We think we got this early,” Cherington said. “That said, he did share with us after the outing the other night that he had been feeling it throughout the week, including that Dodgers game. It’s in a specific location. We believe, from the information that we have, that it’s on the minor side and he’s going to recover from this quickly.”