The Pittsburgh Pirates sent Konnor Griffin to Triple-A to start 2026, and fans weren't happy with the decision. The 2024 first-round pick became baseball's consensus number one prospect after he slashed .333/.415/.527 with a 165 wRC+ over 563 plate appearances. Griffin showed off all five of his tools. He went yard 21 times with a .194 isolated slugging percentage. Griffin also swiped 65 bags. He showed off the defensive chops of a potential future Gold Glove winner at shortstop. Griffin only struck out 21.7% of the time with a respectable 8.9% walk rate. However, sending Griffin down left the Pirates open to a whole heap of problems. Calling him back up would solve many of the issues currently plaguing the Pirates' lineup and defensive alignment, with these three standing out as the most significant.
1. Jared Triolo moves back to his better position
When the Pirates sent Griffin to Indianapolis to start the season, they put Jared Triolo as the placeholder at shortstop until they opt to bring Griffin back into the fold. Triolo has proven to be a solid defender all over the infield. He can play shortstop, but that doesn't mean he should play it every day. In 482.2 innings entering Monday's game, Triolo has -5 defensive runs saved and -1 out above average. Among the four infield positions, shortstop is Triolo's worst position defensively.
Griffin's promotion can move Triolo back to his best position on the diamond: third base. It's the position he was drafted as and has the most MLB experience at. Triolo has over 1000 innings at the hot corner (1096.2, to be exact), and owns an impressive +13 DRS and +9 OAA at the position. Triolo ranked in the top ten in both stats among all 3 B's last year, despite logging fewer than 300 innings. That also means Nick Gonzales, who moved to third base when the Pirates optioned Griffin, won't play nearly as much of the hot corner. Having Griffin and Triolo on the left side of the infield could be an extremely fun duo to watch, at least when it comes to defense. There will be far fewer seeing-eye singles and liners like the one Gonzales missed during the final game of the Mets series (which led to a run scoring).
2. Fewer plate appearances for below-average hitters
Calling up Griffin means less playing time for Triolo and Gonzales. While Triolo certainly made strides forward in 2025, his .310 xwOBA was still only in the 32nd percentile of batters last season. Gonzales put up just an 82 wRC+ over 408 plate appearances last season. While an ankle injury did slow him down, his 52nd percentile, .322 xwOBA during a mostly healthy 2024 doesn't inspire much confidence. However, both Gonzales and Triolo won't be playing at the same time, like they are now. Plus, you can stomach a wOBA hovering around .310 with Triolo's defensive chops working at third base.
3. A potentially elite hitter is now in the lineup
You're not taking playing time away from Gonzales and Triolo, and giving it to another player who you're hoping sticks in the Major Leagues. You're giving it to one of the most gifted hitting prospects in all of baseball. Griffin receives a 60-grade for his hit tool and a 70-grade for his power tool by Baseball America. According to BA, a 60-grade hit tool looks like a .275-.294 batter, and a 70-grade power hitter belts somewhere around 34-39 long balls a season. Only 13 shortstops in history have ever batted at least .275 with 34+ home runs. The last to achieve this was Gunnar Henderson in 2024. The last shortstop to do this in multiple seasons was Trevor Story in 2018 (.291 AVG, 37 HRS) and 2019 (.294 AVG, 35 HRS). That sort of production can carry even a below-average lineup. The Pirates can insert that potential into their roster tomorrow if they want to.
