The Pittsburgh Pirates are all but eliminated from 2025 postseason contention and the calendar hasn't even flipped to June yet. But you could convince yourself that the club had a non-zero shot of pushing toward a playoff spot as soon as next season. After all, they have an army of promising young pitchers behind generational ace Paul Skenes.
However, those chances may have officially come and gone following right-hander Jared Jones' devastating, season-ending setback from a ligament strain in his throwing elbow.
Pirates senior director of medicine Todd Tomczyk announced that Jones will undergo surgery (h/t Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). While there was "no specific" information on the procedure itself, the 23-year-old is going under the knife today. He's already been safely ruled out for the rest of 2025 -- at least. It's a brutal blow to all parties involved, namely Pittsburgh's generational ace, Paul Skenes.
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Jared Jones season-ending elbow injury throws another prime Paul Skenes year in the garbage for Pirates
Jones was supposed to be Skenes' running mate, another hard-throwing righty who flashed massive potential last season. But he's been on the shelf for this entire campaign, and now figures to miss at least a good chunk of 2026 too. The Pirates have yet to issue any timeline for his recovery, let alone a diagnosis. Nonetheless, any elbow reconstruction means at least a 12-month rehab process.
After getting cleared to resume throwing in late April, Jones was trending toward rejoining Skenes in Pittsburgh's rotation sometime in June. Alas, something ostensibly went awry along the way, sidelining the 23-year-old indefinitely. Again, there's no confirmation, but recent reporting suggests he's having Tommy John reconstructive surgery.
Whether we like it or not, Jones' health (or lack thereof) comes back to Skenes. Everything happening within the Pirates organization is ultimately looked at through the lens of maximizing their time with the latter. Rival front offices are breathing down Pittsburgh's neck, waiting to give up a historic haul to trade for a superstar under team control through 2029.
As a rookie in 2024, Jones went 6-8 with a 4.14 ERA, 1.192 WHIP and 132 strikeouts across 121.2 innings of work. He's touted as one of baseball's most promising young hurlers, though injuries to his incredible right arm have derailed him, the Pirates and Skenes.