Pirates right-hander Jared Jones recently had a start skipped due to some elbow inflammation, leading to a series of tests. Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that Jones does not have any ligament damage and will not require surgery. However, he will be shut down from throwing for the next six weeks.
About a week ago, manager Derek Shelton relayed to reporters that Jones had experienced the elbow discomfort. The club had already done some imaging but Jones was going to be sent for a second opinion. That’s generally not pleasant framing, as going for a second opinion typically means you didn’t like the first.
While they avoided the worst-case scenario of a surgery that would have sidelined him into 2026, the Bucs will be without arguably their second-best starter for quite some time. Jones won’t even resume throwing until the first or second week of May at the earliest. He’ll likely require a 4-6 week buildup from there. He’d need to get through multiple bullpen and live batting practice sessions before he’s ready to go on a rehab assignment. Jones would likely need at least 2-3 minor league appearances before he’s ready for his season debut. He’ll miss most of the first half.
Jones is coming off a strong rookie year. The former second-round pick made 22 starts and tallied 121 2/3 innings of 4.14 ERA ball. He struck out 26.2% of opponents against a reasonable 7.7% walk rate. Jones might have worn down a bit as the season progressed. He took a 3.56 ERA into the All-Star Break but allowed nearly six earned runs per nine in the second half. He continued to miss bats at an above-average rate but saw a spike in his home run rate late in the year. A lat strain shelved him for most of that time, as he was on the IL from early July into late August.
Rocky finish aside, Jones is one of the most talented young pitchers in the sport. He averages north of 97 MPH on his fastball and can miss bats with both an upper-80s slider and a low-80s curveball. Hitters swung through more than 14% of his offerings last season. Jones was in the top 10 in MLB (among pitchers with at least 100 innings) in swinging strike rate. That hints at top-of-the-rotation upside, but the focus now is on avoiding a more significant elbow issue.
Paul Skenes and Mitch Keller lead Pittsburgh’s rotation. They’ll be followed by lefties Andrew Heaney and Bailey Falter. Earlier this week, the Bucs named relief convert Carmen Mlodzinski their season-opening fifth starter. Prospects Thomas Harrington and Bubba Chandler should push for spots midway through the year.
