The Pittsburgh Pirates have announced that rookie shortstop Konnor Griffin will be placed on the 10-day injured list to allow his strained right elbow time to heal. Griffin, who is just 20 years old, had been serving as the team’s designated hitter in recent games to keep his bat in the lineup while minimizing his throwing duties. Despite these efforts, the team decided that a stint on the injured list was necessary.

Griffin has shown promise in his first major league season, improving his performance after a slow start. He has managed to boost his slash line to .270/.327/.402, with four home runs and 14 stolen bases over 51 games. In the recent victories against Minnesota, he went 4-for-9, including a double and a run scored.

Roster Changes

To fill Griffin’s spot on the 26-man roster, the Pirates have activated Ryan O’Hearn from the injured list. O’Hearn, who plays both first base and outfield, had been sidelined due to a right quad strain. Before his injury, he posted a .289/.368/.459 slash line with seven home runs and 29 RBIs over 44 games.

In addition to Griffin’s placement on the injured list, the Pirates made adjustments to their pitching staff. Carmen Mlodzinski, who was recently moved out of the starting rotation, has been placed on the restricted list. Right-handed reliever Cam Sanders has been called up from Triple-A Indianapolis to fill the gap. Sanders had a challenging start to the season with the Pirates but has shown improvement in Triple-A, boasting a 3.77 ERA and 25 strikeouts over 14 1/3 innings.

Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.