Pirates’ Jared Jones likely to miss more than 2 weeks, says coach Derek Shelton

Pittsburgh Pirates rookie pitcher Jared Jones was placed on the 15-day injured list with a right side strain on Thursday. However, before Friday’s series opener against the New York Mets, manager Derek Shelton told reporters that the right-hander will likely be out for more than two weeks.

Shelton said Jones probably won’t pitch again for two weeks and after that, the Pirates will re-evaluate the pitcher before deciding how to move forward.

A 15-day stint on the IL would take Jones to the All-Star break, but returning after rest means he likely won’t return until late July or early August.

Jones was pulled from his start Wednesday after five innings, which many assumed was done for load management reasons. Pirates monitored the rookie’s pitch and inning count, skipping Jones’ final turn in the rotation (scheduled for June 28) to give him more rest. He gave live batting practice during the 10-day break.

After Jones’ game against the Cardinals, Shelton said he was removed from the game out of “an abundance of caution.” Before being pulled, the rookie allowed one run, four hits and two walks with five strikeouts on 78 pitches.

Jones admitted he felt tightness in his right back and was pulled after telling his coaches about it. But he insisted there was “nothing to worry about”.

In 16 starts this season, Jones has a 3.56 ERA (classification in 10th among rookie starting pitchers) with 98 strikeouts in 91 innings and a 5–6 record.

Despite a 41-45 record heading into Friday’s game, the Pirates are four games out of the final National League playoff spot. (However, four teams are above them in the standings.)