After getting the 'better' surgery, Pirates righty Jared Jones thrilled to be throwing again

When doctors couldn’t get good imaging of the backside of his elbow to determine the damage to his ulnar collateral ligament, Jared Jones wasn’t sure what type of surgery lay ahead.

The Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander didn’t know whether he would need reconstruction of his right elbow, the preferable InternalBrace or a hybrid procedure that would use a ligament from his left wrist to tie around the strap for reinforcement.

“I woke up from surgery, looked at my wrist and had nothing there,” Jones said. “I was like, ‘All right, sick. I got the better one.’”

Where UCL reconstruction, better known as Tommy John surgery, typically requires a recovery of 14-16 months before returning to game action, the InternalBrace allows for a recovery closer to 12 months.

So, Jones is elated to have started throwing the ball again.

“I feel like a kid on Christmas every single day I get to pick up a baseball,” Jones said. “Four months off of not being a baseball player and just working out and rehabbing, it’s been tough. Just being able to put a baseball in my hand and make a throwing motion again has been really, really fun.”

Jones returned to PNC Park this past weekend to check in with the Pirates’ medical and sports performance teams and spend some time with his teammates in the home clubhouse. Being back around the ballclub proved therapeutic for the 24-year-old pitcher.

“Yeah, it has been tough. Just kind of sitting on my couch watching the Pirates game … obviously, would rather be here watching it if anything, or playing,” Jones said. “But just taking the time aside to get away from baseball a little bit and really just focus on what I need to do to get better. I think I’m doing a pretty good job of that right now.”

Since regaining motion in his right arm, Jones has been working out with pitching coordinator Vic Black at Pirate City in Bradenton, Fla. That Jones was reunited with starting pitchers Paul Skenes, Mitch Keller, Johan Oviedo and rookies Braxton Ashcraft, Mike Burrows and Bubba Chandler had him talking about how it was “awesome to be back.”

“I (hadn’t) seen this young man smile in quiet some time, other than when he got to the big leagues for the first time,” Pirates senior director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said. “So, it’s really, really cool to see Jared in a good spot mentally and doing a thing that he loves to do, and that’s getting close to playing baseball.”

Jones even joked about how the Pirates selected Seth Hernandez with their first-round draft pick in July and added another Jared Jones — this one a first baseman nicknamed “Bear” from LSU — in the ninth round.

“I thought this draft was a little bit funny,” Jones said. “They took a prep arm out of Southern California. That’s what I was. And then they took a literal Jared Jones, so I think they just missed me this entire year. It’s the Jared Jones draft.”

After he went 6-8 with a 4.14 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 132 strikeouts in 121 2/3 innings over 22 starts as a rookie — including a pair of a 10-strikeout performances — the Pirates are eager for Jones to return to their rotation.

Tomczyk, however, warned that Jones is “very early in the stages” of his recovery, throwing from 60 feet three times a week. For Jones, throwing a baseball for the first time since the surgery brought about mixed feelings. He was both excited and terrified.

“I feel like it’s just a mind game of finally getting day one over with it,” Jones said. “Again, you don’t know what to expect or how to feel or anything like that, but ever since day one of throwing, it’s been smooth sailing from there.”

Given his surgery was May 21, Jones is projected to return to pitching by next June. He will need some time to ramp up, so he’s not expected to join the Pirates until around the All-Star break in July. For now, Jones is focused on getting his arm ready more than a timeline.

“That’s really just the main point, getting the arm healthy and stronger than what it was before, making sure when the time I’m supposed to be back, it’s time to go and be better than what I was before,” Jones said. “You look around the clubhouse and you look at all the pitchers we have and everyone’s electric. Everyone’s been really good at what they do this season. It’s going to be a lot of fun to come back to.”