Jared Jones Back With Pirates
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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates have a strong pitching staff, but they hope that Jared Jones' return back from injury will make them even better.
Jones is with the Pirates ahead of their series opener vs. the Washington Nationals at PNC Park on April 13, with a locker in the clubhouse. He is also scheduled for a bullpen session the following day.
He is still on the 60-day injured list, so he won't play for the Pirates, as he recovers from his season-ending surgery last May.
One person that was quite pleased to see Jones back was none other than Pirates manager Don Kelly, who is excited for his bullpen session.
“Yeah, great. It was great to see Jared walking around, smile on his face," Kelly said. "I know he was excited to get up here and get out of Florida. It will be great to see his pen (Tuesday), hopefully everything continues to go well and we’ll see him here in short order.”
When Jared Jones Should Fully Return to Pirates
Jones went on the 60-day injured list officially on Opening Day on March 26, even though the Pirates had already placed him on there prior in February.
This means that he won't come back until May 25 at the earliest off the 60-day injured list, which would mark the first day he could officially come back and pitch for the Pirates this season.
Jones still hasn't started his first rehab assignment, which would serve as a massive step for him officially making his comeback towards a spot with the Pirates.
“I don’t have any specifics," Kelly said on when Jones would return. "60 days so, we’re looking end of May, beginning of June. Don’t have any specific details on it. Hasn’t been any huge setbacks to that.”
Overview of Jared Jones' Injury Timeline
Jones underwent internal brace surgery back on May 21, 2025, which saw Dr. Keith Meister perform the surgery in Dallas, Texas.
This came after Jones had issues with his elbow in Spring Training, which was eventually realized as an ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) sprain after he tried to work back up to full strength during the early part of the season.
The internal brace surgery that Jones chose isn't as invasive as Tommy John surgery, which would've knocked Jones out the rest of the 2026 season as well, but still requires working on the repairing the ligaments back to the bone, allowing it to heal, then augmenting it, making it stronger.
Jones was also back at PNC Park at the end of September, as all the injured players come back for the last home series of the season, but soon started his return towards full fitness.
He would throw off a flat mound back on Dec. 9, which is also known as a "flat," then threw his first bullpen session back on Jan. 11.
Jones spent all of Spring Training with the Pirates and was previously still down in Bradenton, Fla., as he is still trying to get back to what he was doing in 2024, which saw him excel in the starting rotation.
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.