Pirates' Jared Jones Takes Important Step in Injury Recovery
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PITTSBURGH — Jared Jones hasn't pitched for the Pittsburgh Pirates since the end of 2024, but his work back from injury should give fans encouragement heading into 2026.
Jones underwent surgery on his elbow, which knocked him out of the 2025 season, but has spent the past few months improving each and every day, getting back to full strength.
His most recent development saw Jones do his "first flat", which he posted to his Instagram story on Dec. 9. A "flat" is officially when a pitcher throws from a flat mound, which serves as one of the big steps before eventually retuning to the elevated mound pitchers throw from in games.
Jones could return early in the 2026 season and by doing this, he's right on track to achieving that.
Pirates starting pitcher Jared Jones took his first flat mound pitching session since undergoing internal brace surgery on May 21
— Dominic Campbell (@DOMISMONEY) December 9, 2025
Jones is aiming for a full recovery by March-May 2026 pic.twitter.com/ByJ3vZ4nLq
Jones Suffers Season-Ending Injury
Pirates fans eagerly awaited the second season with Jones in the rotation in 2025, but they never saw him pitch in the black and yellow.
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.
He underwent internal brace surgery, ending his season in May and putting him on a long road of recovery.
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. His first flat session taking place just three months after that clearance.
He is on schedule for a return after 10-12 months of recovery, which puts him on track for March-May 26.
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 and National League Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes.
Rookies in Braxton Ashcraft, Hunter Barco, Mike Burrows and Bubba Chandler made their debuts last season and will fight for a spot in the rotation alongside Jones.
Jones may start out of the bullpen when he returns, which all four rookies did, but regardless, he'll have a great supporting cast, with Skenes and potentially, veteran starting pitcher Mitch Keller.
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.