A pair of Pittsburgh Pirates made the first starts of their rehabilitation assignments to rave reviews, as Jared Jones was untouchable at Low-A Bradenton and Jared Triolo was a big hit for Double-A Altoona.
Jones, returning from InternalBrace surgery on his right elbow a year ago, topped triple digits on his first three pitches and eight of his first 18 in recording five strikeouts without a walk on 41 pitches over three scoreless innings in a 5-1 win Wednesday over Lakeland.
“Really cool to see Jared out there,” Pirates senior director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said. “Initial reports, initial input, initial data from the group down from there from Jared notably is he’s recovering normally. He’s going to throw a side in the coming days. Unbelievable to see what body of work that Jared put in there and there’s more to be done. Super excited for him. I know he’s fired up.”
Tomczyk said Jones will throw a bullpen session, then the Pirates will determine the location for his next rehab start. He’s not eligible to come off the 60-day injured list until May 26. The Pirates want to build Jones up to the point where he can pitch six innings in 90 pitches, like a typical spring training ramp up “to make sure he’s in a really good spot.”
Triolo, out since the April 3 home opener with a partial tear in the patellar tendon in his right knee, went 3 for 4 with a three-run home run for Altoona on Tuesday. The Curve was rained out Wednesday, so Triolo is scheduled to play Thursday and Friday.
“He’s playing right now since it’s a day game, and then we expect him to play tomorrow as well, so a back-to-back game for him,” Tomczyk said, “and we’ll continue to reassess after every game to see how he’s recovering and go through the next steps with Donnie (Kelly) and Ben (Cherington) and the team.”
In other Pirates injury news:
• Altoona outfielder Mitch Jebb fractured his left thumb while diving head-first to first base to avoid a tag by the pitcher, sustaining ligament injuries that required surgery Wednesday by Dr. Tom Graham. Jebb is expected to return to full baseball activities in three months.
• After being examined by Dr. Keith Meister, Altoona left-hander Anthony Solometo was scheduled to have surgery Thursday to repair a torn labrum.
“Ultimately, we feel, he felt, everybody felt that he’s exhausted all conservative measures, so surgery is recommended,” Tomczyk said. “The pre-op plan was to do a labral repair of the left shoulder, which should put him out for 12 months.”
• Triple-A Indianapolis outfielder Jhostynxon Garcia (lower back), the Pirates’ No. 5 prospect, has transitioned his rehabilitation to Pirate City in Bradenton, Fla., and is expected to play in games in coming days.
• Bradenton outfielder Edward Florentino, the No. 3 prospect, “has just about completed” his rehab assignment and is being viewed as a healthy-active player by the Pirates. Bradenton shortstop Yordanny De Los Santos (hamstring) is back to full activities and is building up to game activity.
• Indianapolis right-hander Mike Clevinger (knee) has transitioned to a functional sports brace and is playing catch but remains on a projection time of six to eight weeks.