Pirates lose Jared Jones, Enmanuel Valdez for the rest of season after undergoing surgery

Jared Jones underwent surgery on his right elbow Wednesday and will miss the remainder of the season, though the Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander opted for a primary repair procedure instead of Tommy John surgery that is expected to shorten his recovery and return him to full competition within a year.

Pirates senior director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk confirmed that, “after a lot of contemplation” and discussions with experts in and outside the industry, Jones elected to have surgery Wednesday to the right forearm/elbow complex but declined to specify the type of procedure performed by Dr. Keith Meister. The Pirates later announced that Jones was projected to return to full competition in 10-12 months.

Tommy John surgery typically requires a 14-16 month recovery and rehabilitation.

A source told TribLive that Jones had an alternative operation: an InternalBrace procedure, which involves implanting synthetic tape that acts like a seatbelt to reinforce the ligament and allows for a faster recovery and quicker return to playing. Former Pirates left-hander Rich Hill is among the major leaguers who opted for the InternalBrace procedure.

“What’s most important is that Jared made the decision to proceed with the surgery,” Tomczyk said. “What we do know about Jared and how he’s approached his current rehab and what we do know of him as a human being, that he’s going to dominate this rehab. And, most importantly, Jared feels terrible. He feels terrible because he’s not able to compete with his teammates the rest of the season. We as an organization are going to support him like we have with all our other professional athletes that are undergoing other types of procedures to the body.”

Because it was initially diagnosed a sprain to the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, Jones was attempting to avoid surgery. Tomczyk said Jones expressed concern when he was throwing out to 100 feet and the elbow “just didn’t feel good.” That led to the consultation Tuesday with Meister, who recommended surgery.

“In early March, a whole gamut of options were expressed with Jared and his camp, and, at that time, the second-most critical component to this is the psychological component,” Tomczyk said. “When a professional athlete is committed to a process — whether it’s surgery, committing to a new plan — that they have to have that in the front of their minds that ‘this is the best decision’ and at that point, Jared wasn’t ready for that.

“We didn’t think it was the right thing or appropriate. By we, I mean all of us, that was a necessary step. Through that process, through the last six weeks, what we learned is Jared yesterday shared with us that he can no longer continue to build back into competition without proceeding with surgery.”

Jones, 23, was 6-8 with a 4.14 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 132 strikeouts against 39 walks in 121 2/3 innings over 22 starts last season for the Pirates. He was shut down from throwing in spring training after missing a scheduled start in Grapefruit League play with an ulnar collateral ligament sprain in his right elbow.

“Really tough losing him, obviously, for this year, but you feel for him, going through it,” Pirates manager Don Kelly said after a 3-1 win over the Cincinnati Reds. “Obviously, Jared means a lot to all of us, the whole team and organization, but just know that he’s going to be working hard, and he’s going to be back next year.”

Losing Jones is a blow to the starting rotation, which was expecting him to return after the All-Star break. After a solid rookie season, Jones was expected to slot behind All-Stars Paul Skenes and Mitch Keller and ahead of left-handers Bailey Falter and Andrew Heaney.

“It’s a huge blow,” Falter said. “Great arm, young kid. He’s going to be fine. He established that he can be a starter in the game last year and a hell of a rookie year. We just need him to worry about him right now, get healthy and we’ll be here waiting for him when he returns.”

In other Pirates injury news, they suffered another setback in the position player group when infielder Enmanuel Valdez underwent surgery Tuesday to repair the superior labrum anterior to posterior — or SLAP tear — in his left shoulder and will be out for six months. Valdez, 26, batted .209/.294/.363 with four doubles, two triples, two home runs and 12 RBIs in 31 games this season, playing 26 games at first base, six at second base and one in right field.

Right-handed reliever Colin Holderman, who was placed on the 15-day injured list Tuesday, has been diagnosed with right thumb tenosynovitis and will be examined by Dr. Don Sheridan in Arizona next week.

“That is an inflamed of the thumb that is very debilitating for anybody that has a career in gripping and throwing a baseball,” Tomczyk said.

Righty reliever Justin Lawrence also had his right elbow examined by Meister and was recommended to have a plasma-rich platelet injection and another three weeks or rest and rehabilitation before resuming a throwing program, Tomczyk said. Lawrence, 30, was 1-0 with a 0.79 ERA, 0.97 WHIP and 15 strikeouts against six walks in 11 1/3 innings over 11 appearances for the Pirates this season.

He went on the injured list with right elbow inflammation on May 3.

Tomczyk said right-handed starter Johan Ovideo, recovering from Tommy John surgery and a lat strain, has thrown four side sessions “with no issues.” Righty reliever Dauri Moreta continues his rehabilitation assignment with Triple-A Indianapolis, also with no issues.

Second baseman Nick Gonzales also is on a rehabilitation assignment at Indianapolis, but it was interrupted when he was hit on the right hand by a pitch in his first game. Tomczyk said tests were negative, and Gonzales is swinging the bat but will be examined Thursday to determine when he’s ready to resume playing in games.

Left-handed starter Hunter Barco, who was removed from a game last week, has a mild muscle strain of the left shoulder. He has resumed throwing out to 120 feet but is considered day-to-day.