Pirates Injury Update: Jared Jones progress, Edward Florentino timeline, Chris Devenski

Jared Jones still appears to be trending toward a midseason return for the Pittsburgh Pirates, offering an encouraging boost to the club’s pitching depth.

According to Pirates senior director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk (via Kevin Gorman of TribLive), Jones is “coming out really good” after throwing live batting practice on Friday and is meeting all rehab benchmarks while recovering well. The right-hander is now nine months removed from his May 21 internal brace surgery and is expected to be ready for game action once he is eligible to come off the 60-day injured list.

Jones delivered a solid rookie campaign prior to the injury, going 6-8 with a 4.14 ERA, a strong 1.19 WHIP and 132 strikeouts across 121 2/3 innings in 22 starts. While Pittsburgh’s rotation currently appears set, Jones’ progress positions him as a potential impact arm later this summer, with a path to reclaim a starting role.

Pirates Injury Update: Edward Florentino progressing toward return from ankle injury

Pirates top outfield prospect Edward Florentino is trending back toward full action after recovering from an ankle injury suffered in mid-February. According to Tomczyk, Florentino has resumed full baseball activities, signaling that his return to game play is near.

The 19-year-old has been limited this spring, appearing in just two Grapefruit League games, where he recorded two strikeouts and a walk across three plate appearances. His last appearance came on Feb. 25 against the Atlanta Braves at CoolToday Park.

Florentino will not participate in the Pirates’ Spring Breakout game Friday against the Detroit Tigers, but the decision appears precautionary. Tomczyk noted that the organization expects Florentino to return to full-game action by late March or early April.

Barring setbacks, the highly regarded prospect should be ready for the start of the minor league season, keeping his development timeline firmly on track.

Pirates Injury Update: Chris Devenski recovering after taking line drive to head in spring training game

Pirates right-hander Chris Devenski has been diagnosed with a concussion after being struck in the head by a batted ball during last Friday’s Grapefruit League game against the Detroit Tigers.

Devenski was hit on the side of the head by a line drive and was carted off the field, though he appeared alert as medical staff attended to him. The concussion diagnosis means he will now enter MLB’s concussion protocol, and a timeline for his return has not yet been established.

The veteran reliever signed a minor-league contract with Pittsburgh in January after spending the 2025 season in the New York Mets organization. Devenski primarily pitched for Triple-A Syracuse last year but also appeared in 13 games (one start) for the Mets, posting a 2.16 ERA, a 0.90 WHIP and a 14:5 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 16.2 innings.

Devenski is playing light catch, per Pirates insider Jason Mackey. His status will be monitored as he works through the concussion protocol.