Pittsburgh Pirates star rookie shortstop Konnor Griffin is expected to miss 8-10 weeks because of an injury to his left ring finger, team director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said Tuesday, according to Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Tomczyk added that Griffin will be in a splint for the first six weeks of his recovery.
The Pirates placed Griffin on the 10-day injured list before Tuesday's game with what they described as a sagittal band injury (ligament) in his finger. Infielder Jack Brannigan was recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis in a corresponding move.
Griffin had his finger examined after making the first of two diving catches during Sunday's 11-5 win over the Washington Nationals.
(Video source: MLB.com)
The 20-year-old phenom has recorded five homers with 25 RBIs, 20 stolen bases, and a .736 OPS over 59 games this season. He's already missed 22 contests because of a forearm flexor strain.
"He's really been a big part of our success," Pirates manager Don Kelly said, according to Will Graves of The Associated Press. "I think for him to learn through this, too, every single player goes through injuries. He's just had a couple tough ones at the beginning. I know he'll be stronger after going through it."
Griffin signed a nine-year, $140-million contract in April after playing just five MLB games.
The Pirates sit three games out of the NL's final wild-card spot entering play Tuesday.
