Jared Jones will make his first major-league start since 2024 on Friday night when the Pittsburgh Pirates open against the Minnesota Twins, activated from the 60-day injured list to take the mound in the matchup.
The name is hot in searches because Jones missed roughly 12 months of baseball after injuring his elbow in spring training and undergoing internal brace surgery on May 21, 2025, then worked back through five rehab starts and 18 1/3 innings in the minors before being cleared. Jones summed up the return plainly: "Pretty damn cool," and added, "It took a lot of time, 12 months, almost exactly, of not playing baseball. You kind of get a sense that you need it. That's kind of what I've learned about myself over that time. I'm just extremely grateful to be back."
The stakes are concrete: as a rookie in 2024 Jones made 22 starts and finished 6-8 with a 4.14 ERA, so the Pirates are betting the arm that produced those numbers can pick up where it left off. To open a 40-man spot and activate Jones on May 29, 2026, Pittsburgh designated Justin Lawrence for assignment; Lawrence had thrown 22 innings this season with a 5.32 ERA, a 23.6% strikeout rate and a 43.1% walk rate, and is making $1.225 million this year.
That roster shuffle ties directly into a deeper shift: the Pirates are moving Carmen Mlodzinski out of the rotation and into the bullpen to bolster late-inning options. Mlodzinski is 4-3 with a 3.76 ERA in 11 games this season and has a 2.63 ERA in 94 career relief appearances, numbers the coaching staff cited when explaining the decision. Manager Don Kelly framed the move in blunt, team-first terms: "We feel this gives the team the best chance to win in all areas," and added, "Carmen has done a nice job as a starter, and he can also fill that role in the bullpen, multiple innings. That's a starting pitcher-ish, bulk, multi-inning high leverage guy out of the (bullpen)."
The simultaneous return of Jones and the shift of Mlodzinski creates a live question for Pittsburgh's pitching architecture: Jones comes back from an elbow procedure and a missed season, while the club is reducing starting depth to improve late-game options. The Lawrence DFA removed a reliever who had been struggling with command and effectiveness this year; the net effect is a staff that is gambling Jones can handle a rotation workload immediately and that Mlodzinski will provide high-leverage bulk innings from the pen.
What happens next is simple and immediate. Jones will take the ball Friday night and the Pirates will judge him by what every comeback is measured against: innings, velocity, and command. His outing will determine whether Pittsburgh keeps him squarely in the rotation or limits him while Mlodzinski’s bullpen role grows. For now Jones is focused on the moment — and on gratitude. "I'm just extremely grateful to be back," he said — a feeling the team hopes turns into performance when he toes the rubber Friday.
For more on the matchup, see the team preview at and the Pirates' roster discussion at a focused piece on Jones' procedure and return is at
