Pirates Give Encouraging Injury News on Jared Jones
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PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Pirates right-handed starting pitcher Jared Jones is working back from a serious injury, but is doing what's needed to get back on the mound on time.
Jones took his first live batting session back on Feb. 20 and Pirates senior director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk reported that Jones met all the benchmarks for his rehab, according to José Negron of DK Pittsburgh Sports.
He reported to Pirate City in Bradenton, Fla., like the rest of the Pirates' pitching staff, and has been doing bullpen sessions and pushing himself over the past month.
Jones underwent internal brace surgery on his right elbow back on May 21 and is on track for a return after 12 months.
The Pirates also placed Jones on the 60-day injured list, which will start on Opening Day, March 26, and have him back by that 12-month target on May 25, depending on when he can start his first rehab assignment.
Jared Jones' Injury Timeline
Pirates fans eagerly awaited the second season with Jones in the rotation in 2025 following a great rookie campaign, but they never saw him pitch.
Jones originally felt pain in his arm in Spring Training and then started throwing again after six weeks off, before suffering a setback, which revealed a ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) sprain and eventually had him undergo the internal brace surgery.
The internal brace surgery that Jones underwent isn't as invasive Tommy John surgery, which would've kept Jones out the rest of 2026 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 received clearance from Dr. Keith Meister, who completed his surgery on May 21, to start throwing again in September, which was the first time he had done so since the operation.
He took his first "flat" on Dec. 9, which is when a pitcher throws from a flat mound, serving as one of the big steps before eventually returning to the elevated mound pitchers throw from in games.
Jones then did his first bullpen session on Jan. 11, which served as another important step towards him pitching from the mound in a live setting.
He also threw a bullpen session on the first day of pitchers and catchers reporting to Pirate City in Bradenton, Fla. for Spring Training.
Jones originally was on schedule for a return after 10-12 months of recovery, which put him on track for March through May. This recovery will allow him to finally pitch in sim games and then eventually against opposing teams.
2024 Campaign Gives Pirates Hope for Jones in 2026
Jones had an excellent Spring Training with the Pirates in 2024, which saw him make the Opening Day roster.
He ended his first full season in Pittsburgh with a 6-8 record, 22 starts, 4.14 ERA in 121.2 innings pitched, 39 walks to 132 strikeouts and a 1.19 WHIP.
Jones posted a sub-3.00 ERA in his first nine starts and had a 3.56 ERA through early July, but a right lat strain kept him out for almost two months before returning to the Pirates in late August.
He struggled afterwards, with a 5.87 ERA in his final six starts and 30.2 innings pitched, allowing at least two earned runs in each start.
Jones will come back to a Pirates starting rotation that has some of the best young talent in baseball in Braxton Ashcraft and Bubba Chandler, veteran Mitch Keller and National League Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes.
Ashcraft and Chandler made their debuts last season and will fight for a spot in the rotation alongside Jones and new free agent signing José Urquidy will also likely have a starting role at times in 2026.
Jones may start out of the bullpen when he returns, which the Pirates did with the rookies last season, but regardless, he'll have a great supporting cast and one of the best rotations in all of baseball.
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.