Pirates pitcher Jared Jones avoids surgery, out for at least 10 weeks
Some good news finally arrived for the Pirates and their young pitching star Jared Jones. The 23-year-old right-hander won’t need surgery and doesn’t have ligament damage in his pitching elbow, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
This comes as a huge relief after Jones was shut down over a week ago when he reported elbow discomfort. Pirates manager Derek Shelton had announced the concerning news on March 19.
While avoiding surgery is a major win, Jones isn’t out of the woods yet. He’ll need to wait six weeks before he can even start throwing again.
That’s a significant setback.
Once he picks up a baseball, he’ll essentially be starting from scratch. He’ll likely need at least another month of building up strength and stamina before rejoining the Pirates’ rotation.
All told, fans shouldn’t expect to see Jones back in action for 10-12 weeks minimum.
But the most important thing? His 2025 season isn’t over before it really began.
Jones made quite an impression in his rookie year after debuting last March 30. In just 22 starts, he struck out 132 batters in 121⅔ innings while posting a solid 4.14 ERA. Not bad for a kid who was drafted out of high school less than four years earlier.
The Pirates had big plans for their rotation this year. They already have superstar Paul Skenes at the top – who many consider the favorite for the NL Cy Young – followed by 2023 All-Star Mitch Keller. Adding a healthy Jones would have given Pittsburgh a formidable three-headed monster atop their starting staff.
Now they’ll have to make do without their promising young arm for a couple months. But considering how scary elbow injuries can be for pitchers, the Pirates are just happy Jones won’t be headed for surgery and a potential year-long recovery.
