Pirates overcomplicate Konnor Griffin's return for no obvious reason

The good news for the Pittsburgh Pirates is obvious: Konnor Griffin is back.

The confusing part is everything else.

Pittsburgh activated Griffin off the injured list ahead of Friday night’s game against the Cincinnati Reds, ending a near-month-long absence caused by a right forearm strain. Griffin played just one rehab game with Double-A Altoona, where he did everything the Pirates could have reasonably asked of him. He reached base all four times, ripped a triple, homered and played seven innings at shortstop. He did make one fielding error, but afterward said he felt good physically.

So, the Pirates get their rookie shortstop back, and their lineup immediately becomes more dangerous. But in the process, they somehow made the roster mechanics around the move feel unnecessarily clunky.

Infield prospect Jack Brannigan was optioned back to Double-A Altoona one day after being recalled. He never even got the chance to make his MLB debut before being sent right back down.

Brannigan had been summoned after Spencer Horwitz landed on the 10-day injured list with a strained left hamstring, seemingly giving manager Don Kelly another athletic, versatile infield option while Griffin remained out. Less than 24 hours later, Griffin was activated and Brannigan was gone.

Konnor Griffin's return to Pirates makes Jack Brannigan call-up awkward and unnecessary

If Griffin was this close to returning, what exactly was the point?

The Pirates’ caution with Griffin’s arm made sense. He's 20 years old, already signed long term and locked in as a major piece of their future. The club had Griffin shut down from throwing for two weeks before rebuilding his arm strength at their complex in Bradenton.

Once Griffin proved he could throw, play shortstop and come out of his rehab game feeling healthy, the Pirates needed only to activate him and move forward. Instead, their timing left Brannigan in roster limbo and made the whole sequence look disorganized.

Griffin enters Friday hitting .270 with a .729 OPS, four home runs and 14 stolen bases through 51 Major League games, and he had clearly turned a corner in May with a .306/.361/.459 slash line. Jared Triolo helped defensively in Griffin’s absence, but his .225/.299/.268 line couldn't come close to replacing Griffin’s offensive impact.

The Pirates are better with Griffin back. That much is simple. Which makes it all the more frustrating that they still found a way to make his return feel more complicated than it needed to be.

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