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.

Senior director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said Wednesday that Jones sustained a UCL sprain in his right elbow, but the ligament is stable. Conservative management was recommended by Dr. Keith Meister, not surgery. That means Jones will not pick up a baseball for approximately six weeks, and as long as Jones continues to show healing, he may begin a two-handed plyo program in about three weeks.

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 back at some point this year. There’s no firm timetable for when he will be able to return, but the optimism is he will be back this season.

“He’s a killer on the mound, and now he’ll have to be a killer in his recovery,” general manager Ben Cherington said. “We feel confident he’s gonna be on the mound helping us win games this year. Excited for that.”

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.

More Pirates news
• The Pirates’ final roster moves have been set. Ryan Borucki will have his contract selected and fellow lefty Joey Wentz will also make the Opening Day bullpen. Hunter Stratton will be optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis, while Peter Strzelecki has been told he did not make the team.

Borucki was sharp this Spring Training, allowing just one earned run with 14 strikeouts over 9 2/3 innings. He will be the only non-roster player to make the Opening Day club this year. Wentz allowed two earned runs over 8 2/3 innings this spring and can go multiple innings, which is appealing for the Pirates.

Strzelecki has no Minor League options remaining, meaning he will be either designated for assignment or traded. The right-hander was acquired for cash considerations from the Guardians this winter and allowed seven runs and struck out 10 in nine Grapefruit League innings this spring. Stratton’s contract was selected by the club last week, but he pitched only one inning this spring as he completed the final steps of his rehab back from a ruptured patellar tendon in his left knee.

• First baseman Spencer Horwitz is swinging with a normal bat in addition to fielding ground balls and playing catch. He’s going to need to continue to pick up the volume before he can return to game action, per Tomczyk, and based on his current trajectory, he is still a couple weeks away from participating in full baseball activities.