Ben Cherington and the Pittsburgh Pirates face a difficult choice regarding Konnor Griffin\u2019s Opening Day assignment.<\/p>\n
The 19-year-old phenom has already hit three home runs in spring training while competing for a big-league role. Cherington discussed Griffin\u2019s strong start<\/a> Sunday at Bradenton, Florida, per Jos\u00e9 Negron of DK Pittsburgh Sports<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s been impressive,\u201d Cherington said. \u201cAs we anticipated he would be, knowing Konnor and the physical skills and who he is as a person. Anticipated that he would do good things in spring training, and he has.\u201d<\/p>\n The Pirates have given Griffin an opportunity to earn a spot in the majors if he can immediately help the club in 2026. However, Cherington will also consider what\u2019s best for the shortstop\u2019s long-term future.<\/p>\n \u201cWe believe we have a responsibility as an organization with Konnor,\u201d Cherington added. \u201cHe has a chance to have a really, really good, long career, and it\u2019s our job to do everything we can to support him and be in the best spot possible to do that. Obviously, we want to try to marry that up with him helping the Pirates win as many games as possible, too. So that will continue to guide us.\u201d<\/p>\n Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n Cherington stressed that spring training won\u2019t be the only factor driving the team\u2019s decision. He also noted the steep jump Griffin would be making to the majors after playing just 21 Double-A games at Altoona last year.<\/p>\n \u201cWe believe spring training is a tiny slice of information, and we owe it to players to look at the entire body of work,\u201d Cherington said. \u201cAnd in Konnor\u2019s case, there\u2019s 100 plate appearances above High-A, so that\u2019s important information, too. We\u2019ll see where this goes, but our job will be to put him in a position to have the longest, best career possible.\u201d<\/p>\n