Jared Jones is Finally Back and Making First Pirates Start
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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates finally have one of their most important pieces of their pitching staff back and ready for competition.
The Pirates announced that they activated right-handed pitcher Jared Jones off the 60-day injured list and added him back onto the 26-man roster, marking his official return to the major leagues after more than a year-and-a-half. Jones will also start against the Minnesota Twins as his first game back.
Jones could've joined the Pirates as early as May 24, which marked 60 days after he went on the 60-day injured list on March 25, one day before Opening Day, but he comes back four days later, two months into the season.
What This Means for the Pirates
The Pirates now have one of the better pitchers on the team fully healthy and ready to take on whatever the team needs from him going forward.
Jones showed during his rehab assignments that he's back to being himself, throwing his entire pitch mix and ramping up the velocity.
Expect Jones to throw his four-seam fastball consistently, which reaches 100 mph, plus his slider, changeup, curveball and sinker throughout his outings.
Jones also gives the Pirates a new starting pitcher option and they believe that's where he fits long-term, but they may also have him work in with another starter, in a "piggy-back" role, where he would either start or come in later on and have a bulk relief outing.
He had a strong rookie season in the Pirates starting rotation in 2024, especially through early July, where he had a 3.56 ERA and 98 strikeouts over 91.0 innings pitched.
Jones dealt with a right lat strain after that and made six starts from when he returned in late August, but wasn't as effective, with a 5.87 ERA.
The Pirates having Jones back at full strength should see him pitch more towards his earlier part of his rookie season, bringing the confidence and energy the team needs on the mound, in a season that they see themselves finally contending for the playoffs.
Overlook at Jones' Injury Timeline
The injury for Jones started back in Spring Training 2025, when he was dealing with pain in his arm, which put him on the no-throw list for six weeks.
Jones worked back to try and get to full health, but still dealt with pain, which was eventually diagnosed as a ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) sprain in his right elbow, or throwing arm.
He decided he would undergo internal brace surgery, which Dr. Keith Meister completed on May 21, 2025 in Dallas, Texas, a little more than a year ago from his full return to the Pirates.
The return timeline was 10-12 months, which makes him coming back at the end of May showed he was on good timing.
Jones had a long rehab, which included not throwing, then eventually getting back to a flat mound in December, a bullpen in January and throwing with the Pirates during Spring Training.
He eventually started ramping up with his rehab, facing live batting practice, taking on different batters and then pitching in sim games to fully get back into competition.
Jones would start his rehab assignment on April 29, making five starts and finishing with a 2.89 ERA over 18.2 innings pitched, 24 strikeouts to six walks, a .197 BAA and a 1.02 WHIP. He made one start with Single-A Bradenton and then two starts each with both Double-A Altoona and Triple-A Indianapolis.
He threw bullpens in between these starts for Pirates pitching coach Bill Murphy and did one as recently as May 26, as they monitored his progress and looked to see when it would best for his official return.
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Dominic writes for Pittsburgh Pirates On SI, Pittsburgh Panthers Pn SI and also, Pittsburgh Steelers On SI. A Pittsburgh native, Dominic grew up watching Pittsburgh Sports and wrote for The Pitt News as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, covering Pitt Athletics. He would write for Pittsburgh Sports Now after college and has years of experience covering sports across Pittsburgh.