Jared Jones' dad calls out Pirates local radio host over son's injury timeline

The Pittsburgh Pirates will be without one of their top young pitchers to open the season, but the situation may not be as dire as initially feared.

Jared Jones, originally slotted to be the Pirates' No. 2 starter behind Paul Skenes, missed his final spring training start last Wednesday due to elbow discomfort he experienced following a bullpen session earlier in the week. Fans began to fear the worst with each day that passed without an update from the team on Jones' status, and converted reliever Carmen Mlodzinski was named the Pirates' fifth starter in the meantime.

Finally, Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported Tuesday evening that Jones did not suffer any torn ligaments and would not need surgery – cue the massive exhale from Pirates fans – but did note that Jones would be shut down from throwing for six weeks. If all goes well, Jones should begin his rehab on or around May 6.

Jared Jones' dad calls out Pirates local radio host over son's injury timeline

Overall, the update on Jones' injury timeline is an encouraging one – especially considering the ominous comments made by Pirates TV play-by-play announcer Greg Brown earlier that day. During an appearance on 93.7 The Fan, Brown cautioned that Jones had not received "good news" and would be out for "a while."

Host Andrew Fillipponi posted Brown's comments on X, causing a stir within the fanbase about Jones potentially needing Tommy John surgery before any official update had even been provided. Less than an hour later, Jones' father, Keith, quote-tweeted Fillipponi's original post and replied, "Wanna bet? #GodIsGood."

Of course, it's all relative. Jones will technically be out for "a while" – probably two to three months, at the very least – but saying that the news he received is "not good" isn't entirely accurate, considering many fans believed that surgery was inevitable.

At 6:52 p.m. ET – nearly two hours after Keith posted his response to Fillipponi – Hiles reported that Jared had not torn ligaments and would not need surgery. Moral of the story? Sometimes, players' family members are more reliable sources than fear mongering radio hosts.

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