Positive Jared Jones development upon return is promising for 2025 Pirates

Pittsburgh Pirates rookie pitcher Jared Jones may have come "back" from the injured list last week; but now, he's starting to look like he's back.

Jones' return from a lengthy stay on the IL with a lat strain last week didn't go exactly as planned, as the right-hander gave up five runs over four innings in what would end up being a 9-5 loss to the Chicago Cubs. But his second post-IL start, which happened to be a rematch against the Cubs on Monday, was much better. Jones allowed three runs on six hits and one walk while striking out four batters over 6.1 innings in a no-decision against Chicago.

Jones threw 87 pitches, 60 of which were for strikes. However, Dansby Swanson homered off Jones in a second consecutive outing, and Ian Happ hit a two-run triple that put the rookie right-hander in line for the loss until Pittsburgh's bats came to life in the eighth inning. The Pirates roared to a 4-3 comeback victory behind homers from Bryan Reynolds and Andrew McCutchen, and reliever Dennis Santana would be credited with the win in his first save of the season.

Positive Jared Jones development upon return is promising for 2025 Pirates

The plan was for Jones to pitch six innings in Monday's contest, according to Pirates manager Derek Shelton; the right-hander was so efficient during those six innings, however, that he earned the opportunity to come back out for the seventh.

Perhaps the most promising development to come from Jones' most recent start had to do with his workload. The nearly two months he spent on the IL alleviated any potential concerns regarding his overall major league workload, and the focus has shifted to him being healthy and pitching as much as possible after Monday saw him cross the 100-inning threshold in his debut MLB season.

Jones still has room for improvement and may not be quite as effective as he was early in the season, when he posted a 3.05 ERA and averaged nearly seven strikeouts per game over his first 10 outings. But in earning his 10th quality start Monday, he appears to be well on his way to ending a promising rookie campaign on a high note while providing plenty of optimism for the Pirates rotation in 2025.

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