Pirates right-hander Jared Jones recently had a start skipped due to some elbow inflammation, leading to a series of tests. Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that Jones does not have any ligament damage and will not require surgery. However, he will be shut down from throwing for the next six weeks.
About a week ago, manager Derek Shelton relayed to reporters that Jones had experienced the elbow discomfort. The club had already done some imaging but Jones was going to be sent for a second opinion. That’s generally not pleasant framing, as going for a second opinion typically means you didn’t like the first.
While they avoided the worst-case scenario of a surgery that would have sidelined him into 2026, the Bucs will be without arguably their second-best starter for quite some time. Jones won’t even resume throwing until the first or second week of May at the earliest. He’ll likely require a 4-6 week buildup from there. He’d need to get through multiple bullpen and live batting practice sessions before he’s ready to go on a rehab assignment. Jones would likely need at least 2-3 minor league appearances before he’s ready for his season debut. He’ll miss most of the first half.
Jones is coming off a strong rookie year. The former second-round pick made 22 starts and tallied 121 2/3 innings of 4.14 ERA ball. He struck out 26.2% of opponents against a reasonable 7.7% walk rate. Jones might have worn down a bit as the season progressed. He took a 3.56 ERA into the All-Star Break but allowed nearly six earned runs per nine in the second half. He continued to miss bats at an above-average rate but saw a spike in his home run rate late in the year. A lat strain shelved him for most of that time, as he was on the IL from early July into late August.
Rocky finish aside, Jones is one of the most talented young pitchers in the sport. He averages north of 97 MPH on his fastball and can miss bats with both an upper-80s slider and a low-80s curveball. Hitters swung through more than 14% of his offerings last season. Jones was in the top 10 in MLB (among pitchers with at least 100 innings) in swinging strike rate. That hints at top-of-the-rotation upside, but the focus now is on avoiding a more significant elbow issue.
Paul Skenes and Mitch Keller lead Pittsburgh’s rotation. They’ll be followed by lefties Andrew Heaney and Bailey Falter. Earlier this week, the Bucs named relief convert Carmen Mlodzinski their season-opening fifth starter. Prospects Thomas Harrington and Bubba Chandler should push for spots midway through the year.
So, he’ll need surgery about 8 weeks from now, then?
Maybe get “lucky” and get ends up needing it after minor league starts or mlb ones in summer. Better than unlucky like Cole getting it next spring training.
More often than not, that’s where it ultimately leads. Rarely does a pitcher get 2 opinions, is shut down for months, and then resumes his normal repertoire like nothing ever happened. Most recent example is Gerrit Cole even though he has a whole lot more miles on that arm than Jones does. PIT probably wishing they still had Ortiz.
Jared needs to call Triston McKenzie.
“Rarely does a pitcher get 2 opinions, is shut down for months, and then resumes his normal repertoire like nothing ever happened.”
I can’t think of even one example of this.
Gerrit Cole! Oh wait!
The best example of this working is Ervin Santana (and that one included identifiable UCL damage).
Of course, it’s not great that the poster child for rest and rehab is someone retired.
Heck I wish Clint Hurdle was still manager
Why delay the inevitable 🤷♂️
Because while TJS has a good prognosis, it *can* end careers. And if they can’t identify any damage, then it would be medically negligent (not to mention stupid) to replace a perfectly healthy UCL.
We’ve all seen this pattern before, and the bad ones stick with us. However, this does work out for some guys. Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler have both bounced back from forearm/elbow discomfort without needing TJS. Wheeler even throws about as hard as Jones.
What are they delaying? The scans show no ligament damage. What do you want them to do? Manually damage/tear it and put it back together?
Why delay the inevitable
========================
Because the downside is that maybe he pitches in September 2026, instead of April, 2027. And the upside is he pitches in May 2025 istead of September 2026.
First they bend, then they break
He won’t require surgery…….. for now.
they’re gonna risk losing him for two full seasons instead of like 1-1.5 if theyre just delaying the inevitable
What do you propose they do? Surgery on an elbow that shows no ligament damage?
As if having a miserly owner and incompetent GM and manager weren’t enough, the Pirates seem to have their share on annual bad luck. It’s like someone put an evil eye on Pirates fans
Well to be fair, the luck was on their side with Skenes.
No luck. Small man throws hard going to break.
Correct, just ask McClanahan.
So glad we traded Ortiz and 2 other prospects for a 27 year old injured 1B
Prospects weren’t good enough for Pirates to successfully develop. Better for them with Cleveland professional development. Ortiz no lose either when you can just sign a Heaney Quintana Gibson for 5m. All comes down to Pirates medical staff.
Ortiz is/was a much better pitcher than Heaney ever was
False.
LOL. Easily. Not even close. Let’s see what happens this season
I don’t know what this year holds for either of them, but career-wise, Heaney has been a solid back end of the rotation arm. Ortiz, however, was a bullpen piece each year and even entering last year. 2024 was his first season of note, but even still, the peripherals weren’t great
Just get the TJS over with and be back in a little over a year.
Yes please recommend unnecessary surgery. Nothing ever goes wrong with that. I suggest you have cataract surgery you’ll probably need it some day anyway.
I had cataract surgery last year. It was life changing. I wore glasses from age eight. No more. 20/20 vision. Then again I’m 66 yo.
How to you propose the surgeons fix a tendon that shows no damage?
Good news
The Nutting-haters who call themselves Pirate fans can’t stand to see any good news about the Pirates. So, instead of being pleased that Jared Jones will not require surgery, they moan absurdly that this will only delay the “inevitable” Tommy John surgery.
They were hoping that Jones would require surgery now and be out for two full seasons. They’d rather keep hating and complaining than see the Pirates win.
My guy. Every fanbase has its negative zero posters on this site. They’re a dime a dozen without any critical-thinking skills. Use your mute button liberally if you want to read any comments of substance. It’s the only way I can endure the comment sections here.
When there’s smoke there’s usually fire. Would be incredible if he can pitch the next 5 years without surgery. This has nothing to do with Nutting. Any elbow discomfort forearm tightness 2nd opinion article about any team will have the same exact comments.
My guy!
I’m definitely no fan of Nutting but damn, does this constant Nutting bashing get old. It’s as if Nutting is reading comments and taking a count. His side has zero votes, and he’s still the owner. Move on.
Do you work for the Pirates, Rich?
Are you related to someone in the front office?
I’m just wondering, because your comments are so far removed from reality that there must be a reason.
I’m glad and hopeful that Jones won’t need surgery. As for Nutting, it’s great that he has you hoodwinked. I can laud his financial prowess. As an owner, he’s the worst
Well, as much as I don’t like Nutting, I’d rather have him than John Fisher right now. Not saying much, but still.
His financial “prowess” was outliving his father.
This isn’t an accurate take. Pirate fans are understandably frustrated after years of losing, including the recently failed 5-year rebuild. Cherington and Shelton should’ve been fired at the end of last season. Instead, Nutting has brought them back for a sixth year.
Who’s the adult in the room where the Pirates are concerned? Nutting doesn’t directly address the fan base to assure fans that he and his management team are doing everything they can to win games. (Look at this current roster and the position players specifically.) Instead, it’s Paul Skenes who’s publicly stating that he and the rest of the team are going to do everything they can in 2025 to bring winning baseball back to Pittsburgh and to Pirate fans. Paul Skenes is the adult in the room, not Nutting (or Williams, Cherington, Shelton, etc.). Skenes has a higher baseball IQ than these imposters combined. I’m a former fan who recently decided to move on, and I feel much better.
It’s hard to call this rebuild a complete failure yet when they still have many prospects who they acquired in the rebuild haven’t played more than one season in the Majors yet. If by the end of this year or next year they can’t at least be WC competitors, then that’s one thing.
You’re not wrong but as a Pirates fan I’m so beat down. It seems nothing they do makes sense or makes you think they’re competing even. Our biggest acquisition was an injured guy that has doubles power at first. It’s just ehhhhh..
I get that sentiment. I just want a team that can compete for a WC, at the very least. I think Horwitz will end up having more home run power for the Pirates. PNC is much more hitter friendly for left-handed batters than Rogers Centre is. In terms of park factor per Baseball Savant, PNC is at 104, while Rogers Centre is at 98 for lefties. For lefty batters for home runs, the park factor is 102 at PNC and 95 at Rogers Centre. The higher number means the more hitter friendly.
Lot of head scratching for me!? 3 guys maybe 4 in lineup have to step up and hit!! Madlock,Parker,Stargell and Oliver! Somebody has to hit!! Can’t put all the burden on Skenes!! Just saying!!
1972 Steve Carlton redux coming up.
Not sure of how Oliver is part of a foursome with the other three guys, but then I don’t get the gist either. Oliver was gone by ‘79
Garner maybe?
Bill Robinson?
Talking about hitters from past! Old teams always had 4 or 5 every year. Over last several years they quit developing young hitters
Asking for a second opinion is standard. You want multiple opinions for certainty or just if there is ambiguity.
Only a absolute idiot would say that. I would say think that but you obviously aren’t capable of thinking.
Argument could be made for Parker. Plenty worse but he’s weak.
Hahahahahaha.
Do me a favor. Name three other guys his size throwing with his velocity.
Tim Hudson
Tim Lincecum
Marcus Stroman
Alright I reached a bit.
McClanahan.
Hall of Famer Billy Wagner
Well, they may not have dodged the bullet, but they dodged the nuclear warhead. Hope he heals well and comes back strong.
At least we have some pitching depth that can cover it until he’s back. No more Domingo German or Jake Woodford, now at least we have Braxton Ashcraft, Mike Burrows, and Po-Yu Chen, along with the ovbious top prospects like Chandler and Harrington at Triple-A.
Lost your mind! Stop what your doing!
There is a 90% chance he will need TJ and won’t be back until August 2026 but there are some rare cases when surgery is not needed (Tanaka).
I think this small chance is worth the risk, whether he gets surgery now and is back in July 2026 or he gets the surgery in 2 months and is back in August 26 isn’t a huge difference because the first half season after TJ is usually not productive anyway.
You hope that he throws 40 innings of a 4.5 era in 2026 and then is productive again in 2027
Surgery will happen in 2025
Another TJ drag out. Now he is going to miss all of 2026 too.
@Goose,and Buffett,
He has no ligament damage. So why would he need TJ surgery?
Apparently everyone here is a medical expert who has seen the imaging on his arm and know exactly the diagnosis.
Is it me or does the same thing always happen… just prolongs needing surgery. So instead of being out for a year from March he’ll be out for a year from June.
So your thought is that getting a second opinion is a bad idea that’s just prolonging things, that since one doctor has prescribed it, it must be gospel
Do you know how ridiculous that sounds?
The excessive inflammation response is seemingly the body foreshadowing the inevitable.
The UCL is intact so can’t perform surgery which isn’t required but now Jones is in that rest and wait stage. Then he’ll return and apply the same forces on the inflammation weakened tissue for a tear in the next 3 to 18 months.
Sure that was anecdotal blabbering, but it wouldn’t be an unfamiliar script.
Just delaying the inevitable.
Sure looks bad.
The Pirates lose him for 2-3 months in 2025, but if they stretch rest and rehab subtly—say, eight weeks instead of six—they could gain 2-3 extra years of elite output later, when he’s arbitration-eligible and cheaper than a free-agent ace.
It won’t matter, their incompetent leadership and weak hitting still won’t produce a winning season, no matter how good the pitching is
11 strikeouts, 4 hits, 6ks while looking, and another bad out by Bednar, it’s looking much like 2024 already