Pittsburgh Pirates Place Breakout Rookie Pitcher Jared Jones on Injured List

Jared Jones has been one of the most impressive rookie pitchers in MLB this season, but the Pittsburgh Pirates are putting him on ice until after the All-Star break.
Jul 3, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA;  Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Jared Jones (37) delivers a pitch against the St. Louis Cardinals during the second inning at PNC Park.
Jul 3, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Jared Jones (37) delivers a pitch against the St. Louis Cardinals during the second inning at PNC Park. | Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

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The Pittsburgh Pirates have placed right-handed pitcher Jared Jones on the 15-day injured list, the team announced Thursday morning.

Jones last took the mound Wednesday against the St. Louis Cardinals. He exited in the fifth inning with a right lat strain, and now he is out for the next few weeks as a result.

To fill out their 26-man active roster, the Pirates recalled outfielder Joshua Palacios from Triple-A Indianapolis.

Jones entered 2024 as Pittsburgh's No. 3 prospect, having just thrown 16.1 scoreless innings in Spring Training. The 22-year-old righty is now 5-6 with a 3.56 ERA, 1.110 WHIP, 9.7 strikeouts per nine innings and a 1.8 WAR through 16 MLB appearances.

Losing Jones could prove costly to the Pirates, who are 3.0 games out of a Wild Card spot at 41-44. After all, the breakout rookie has contributed nine quality starts and rounded out one of the most promising rotations in baseball.

Jones is eligible to come off the injured list on July 19, which is the first day back from the All-Star break. As a result, he may only miss two starts.

Pittsburgh is now down a few starting pitchers, as Jones is joining fellow rookie Quinn Priester and veteran Marco Gonzales on the injrued list. NL Rookie of the Year favorite Paul Skenes, homegrown ace Mitch Killer and veteran Martín Pérez will be tasked with upholding the top half of the rotation in their absence.

The Pirates are closing out their series with the Cardinals on Thursday. First pitch for the Independence Day showdown is scheduled for 12:35 p.m. ET.

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Sam Connon
SAM CONNON

Sam Connon is a staff writer covering baseball for “Fastball on SI.’’ He previously covered UCLA Athletics for On SI’s All Bruins site, and is a UCLA graduate, with his work there as a sports columnist receiving awards from the College Media Association and Society of Professional Journalists. Connon also wrote for On SI’s New England Patriots site, Patriots Country, and he was on the Patriots and Boston Red Sox beats at Prime Time Sports Talk. Sam lives in Boston.

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