Jared Jones¡¯ Spring Training injury scare will keep him out for a chunk of the 2025 season, but he will not have to go under the knife for his right elbow discomfort.
Sources tell MLB.com that Jones has no torn ligaments in his elbow and will not require surgery. He will instead go six weeks without throwing. The club has not confirmed the news.
Avoiding surgery is a big sigh of relief, as any procedure would have likely meant that Jones would have missed the entire 2025 season. Instead, the Pirates should get the young right-hander at some point this year.
Jones first started to experience discomfort in his elbow on March 16, causing the Pirates to shut him down for the rest of spring and do imaging on his elbow. Expectations were high for him after a strong rookie campaign where he went 6-8 with a 4.14 ERA and 132 strikeouts over 121 2/3 innings.
Carmen Mlodzinski will be the fifth starter in the rotation to start the year, joining Paul Skenes, Mitch Keller, Andrew Heaney and Bailey Falter. The Pirates have yet to finalize an Opening Day roster, but Jones will start the year on the injured list.