Jared Jones finished his workout Wednesday and couldn’t hide how he felt about starting Friday night, the next big step in his return from internal brace surgery on his right elbow last May 21.
In fact, the ever-intense Jones didn’t even try.
“Pretty damn excited," Jones said. “It’s been a really long time since I touched a Major League mound. I can’t wait. It’s probably going to feel like my debut or the home opener in 2024.”
Jones rejoining the starting rotation will add additional intrigue to the series opener against Minnesota at PNC Park, but it’s actually bigger than one pitcher.
To make room for Jones, the Pirates are moving Carmen Mlodzinski to the bullpen, though it won’t be a traditional role. It’s actually extremely important given the context.
How they plan to use Mlodzinski addresses a glaring need for the Pirates' season, most recently contributing to Wednesday’s 10-4 loss, as they’ll deploy him as what manager Don Kelly described as a “high-leverage bulk guy.”
“The idea is not to have him pitch one or two innings,” Kelly said. “It’s to pitch in close games to win the game.”
Kelly then cited Wednesday’s game being tied at 4 through six innings before Yohan Ramirez and Justin Lawrence combined to allow six runs in the seventh.
If they had Mlodzinski available, it would’ve been the perfect lane for him.
“If he can come in there, he may end up finishing the game,” Kelly said. “To have the length and ability to bounce back like he does, it’s extremely valuable in the bullpen.”
It’s certainly valuable to have a starter with Jones’ high ceiling. Making his MLB debut in 2024, the second-round pick from four years prior struck out 132 in 121 2/3 innings, producing a 4.14 ERA in 22 starts.
Jones’ four-seamer averaged 97.3 mph. His slider generated a whiff rate of 37.3%.
But over the course of his rehab, Jones actually believes he’s evolved. Having so much downtime enabled him to learn more about his curveball and changeup.
The elite velocity held during Jones’ rehab starts. But he said he “feels like a brand new pitcher” because of how much he’s matured in his approach, plus the understanding of what he’s doing on the mound.
In five rehab starts, Jones had a 2.89 ERA while walking six and striking out 24 in 18 2/3 innings.
“It definitely sucks going through surgery and missing an entire year,” Jones said. “Now that I’m here again, I’m kind of grateful for it.
“I felt like in my downtime I really got to learn how I can throw my other pitches and make ‘em a lot better. I feel like that showed kinda throughout the rehab assignment. Really just getting a better feel of what I’ve got.”
That doesn’t mean Jones plans on changing his aggressive demeanor on the mound.
“No, no,” he said. “Why would I?”
Kelly joked that Jones “was probably pissed he went on the 60-day [injured list] during Spring Training,” a nod to the pitcher’s intensity. But the truth is that there’s a clubhouse full of guys eager to see what Jones can do.
“Excited to get Jared back,” Kelly said. “He’s had a long journey from surgery until now. There are a lot of ups and downs that come with that. Excited to get him back here to Pittsburgh and in the rotation.”
Jones said he enjoyed watching the Pirates’ rotation from his couch, calling Mlodzinski and Bubba Chandler “electric” and shouting out Braxton Ashcraft’s breakout season a few times. Endorsements for Paul Skenes are pretty much assumed at this point.
But there’s another part of Jones that was tired of being a fan. The rotation has thrived on internal competition. Jones can’t wait to try and one-up whoever happens to precede him.
“That’s what we preach as a starting pitcher group,” Jones said. “If you can keep one-upping guys, it’s only going to get better.”
The idea of getting better is actually what framed the Pirates’ decision with Mlodzinski, although it was undoubtedly a tough one given how well he’s pitched: a 3.76 ERA in 11 games (nine starts), with 20 walks and 46 strikeouts in 55 innings.
The compensatory-round pick in 2020 did absolutely everything that was asked of him and showed a lot of improvement as a starter.
At the same time, the Pirates believe they have a creative solution for a bullpen problem that has plagued them this season, a way to ensure shorter starts don’t have to turn into losses.
If the score’s close and Mlodzinski is available, expect him to take the ball and give the Pirates length. They could hunt matchups in the later innings, but they’re also not going to stop Mlodzinski from getting outs.
With the addition of his splitter and improved four-seam fastball usage, plus terrific numbers facing an order the first time, the new role should position Mlodzinski and the Pirates for success.
Mlodzinski and Wilber Dotel are almost secondary starters or, like Kelly said, high-leverage bulk guys who will spearhead a different and more sensible type of bullpen deployment.
For a team eying a playoff berth and needing to fix its bullpen woes to do it, the strategy makes sense.
“There aren’t many guys across the league who can do that, who have the ability to start and be a high-leverage, multi-inning reliever out of the ‘pen who can do what Carmen is able to do,” Kelly said. “It’s extremely valuable.”
Jason Mackey: Jason.Mackey@pirates.com and @JMackey_PGH.