When the Pittsburgh Pirates opted not to take Konnor Griffin North at the end of Spring Training, they sent down one of the best prospects they’ve ever had. In their defense, the shortstop didn’t particularly light up Spring Training pitching. He also has fewer than 100 plate appearances above High-A. However, he is the team’s best option at shortstop. The biggest ripple effect that came from sending Griffin to Indianapolis to start the year was that the Pirates’ infield defense became much more shaky. Without Griffin, the Pirates opened the year with Jared Triolo at shortstop and Nick Gonzales at third base. The Bucs are already feeling the effects of this defensive alignment.
Two infielders playing out of position
Moving Triolo off of third base means they’re moving him off his best position. He has +13 defensive runs saved and +9 outs above average in 1096.2 innings at the hot corner. While Triolo is not a bad defender anywhere in the infield, shortstop is his weakest position. Outs above average grades him out around average at just -1 in 472.2 innings. DRS, meanwhile, does not like his glove work nearly as much, with -5.
With Triolo at third base, the Pirates are moving Gonzales to the position he is least experienced at. Heading into 2026, Gonzales only logged ten innings at the hot corner in the Major Leagues. All his playing time at 3B came in 2024. His minor league work at the position consists of just 126 innings. His defense at second base already receives mixed ratings from defensive stats. DRS pins him at -16 runs at the keystone. However, OAA has him at +5 for his career.
Is Griffin a future Gold Glove winner?
Meanwhile, Griffin receives rave reviews on his defense at shortstop. MLB Pipeline gives him high praise for improving his glove up the middle. Both Pipeline and Baseball America project him as a 60-grade defender at shortstop. Multi-time Gold Glove winners with strong defensive reputations like Andres Gimenez, Steven Kwan, Bobby Witt Jr., and Brenton Doyle are examples of players who graded out with 60-grade defense as prospects. Baseball America also states that a 60-grade defender is akin to Marcus Semien, another two-time Gold Glove winner with the second-most DRS (+53) and OAA (+53) at his respective position of second base in the 2020s.
Griffin’s range and glove work at shortstop aren’t the only reasons he looks like a future Gold Glove winner at shortstop. He also has a cannon on his right shoulder. Griffin was a two-way player in college and ran radar guns into the mid-90s. That arm strength has easily translated to shortstop. Both BA and Pipeline rate his arm at 70. A 70-grade arm is what MLB Pipeline gave Oneil Cruz in 2021. Needless to say, Griffin shouldn’t have any problems making deep throws from shortstop.
The mistakes are already coming back to bite them
The Pirates are already learning the hard way from playing two players out of their best position. Gonzales missed a line drive during the finale against the New York Mets. While it was a 101.3 MPH screamer off of Luis Robert Jr.’s bat, it’s still a play most third basemen make. Robert Jr. would later score. Then, after Robert Jr. scored, Triolo booted a ball that would have made the third out of the inning. Luckily, this didn’t cost the Pirates a run.
Why is Triolo at Shortstop over Griffin? Might be time to make the call to AAA #Pirates pic.twitter.com/jGMDvw9EHg
— FanZone Report (@Fanzone_report) March 30, 2026
Moving Gonzales to third base and Triolo to shortstop has already cost the Pirates one run and one base runner. Hopefully, the Pirates can avoid a mistake leading to a massive inning until Griffin is up. However, neither mistake from Sunday’s game would have happened if the Pirates had added Griffin to their Opening Day roster in the first place. This is just one of the effects of not already having Griffin in the Major Leagues, along with the absence of a potential massive offensive threat in the middle of the lineup.
(Top Image Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images)
